Where's MY white picket fence?

Get jenibelle blogging again!!

2011-10-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!! This is Lauren, Jeni's daughter. My mom has been absent on the blogging scene lately and is needing an extra push to get her blogging again. So everyone needs to comment and encourage her to come back!!!! In the last few months she has become a grandma AGAIN (thanks to me) had her baby start HIGH SCHOOL, had her son-in-law (my handsome hubby) graduate from college, had my dad in and out and in and out, ect ect...of the hospital, Jeffrey start his senior year AND be elected to homecoming court, and her and my dad were voted as Grand Marshals of the homecoming parade...to name a few things! I know everyone is SO interested to know about all of this and more so give her a kick in the butt!!!! I miss her blogging and I know you all miss her witty-ness as well!!!! COME BACK TO BLOGGING MOM!

and for your viewing pleasure: My baby girl Ellie Claire, Jenibelle's new grandbaby!

In an effort to make you feel smart.

2011-06-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

One of these days, I am going to get the "stupid" tattoo removed from my forehead.

But not yet. I obviously still am living it.

In January, let me repeat, in January, I signed my boys up for EFY in Provo for July 4-9.
At least I thought I did.

Saturday I got an email reminding my EFY goer, that would be singular, EFY enrollee, that the session they signed up for was next week.

NO FREAKIN' WAY!!

So I look up the confirmation that I have had SINCE JANUARY.

Sure enough!

Scotty is going next week and Jeff is going July 4th.

Um, who doesn't notice a collossal mistake like that !?!?!?!?!?

Me obviously. Me with the "stupid" tattoo on my forehead.

So now I have scrambled for transportation, paid twice as much as I would have driving BOTH boys to Utah at the same time and having fun with friends while they were safely tucked away at BYU. I had great plans and dreams of no-kid fun shopping at cutesy little shops and quilt stores. I had planned on meeting/visiting bloggy friends. Oh, I had made my list of what I would do ALL BY MYSELF/Childless in Utah. Only to have to ruined by my own stupidity.

Sigh.

(So I looked up stupid tattoos on Google images. Oh my.
Not shareable.)

This little guy thinks I'm a genius, and gorgeous.
Ah, the innocence of youth.

Say it with me...Awwww

2011-05-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hey!! Remember me? The one who used to blog?

I'm back.

Here's the deal. In March Byron became quite ill with a serious infection, a life-threatening one. It was terrifying. He spent 12 days in the hospital and then another 10 at home recuperating. I joked with the Dr. that we had 'dodged a bullet'. He very seriously looked at me and said that "no, it was a grenade". During this time in the hospital we found out that Byron was also suffering from Congestive Heart Failure with left valve regurgitation and a seriously enlarged heart. It is non-operable. This revelation took the wind out of my sails and truthfully, I have struggled ever since. This year my allergies were awful and my asthma out of control. I am sure it is stress related, but what's a girl to do?

I am trying to come out of my stress-related life coma. Byron's health consumes my every thought, which totally irritates him. He is trying very hard to live as normal as a life as possible, including going every day to work. Watching him struggle with very small things is heartbreaking. And for one who lives their life on Hyper-Drive, (me), it is also hard to be patient when he is not at his top speed! I'm trying.

So, life does go on. Carter is getting big and so, so, so cute with the most darling personality. He is the light of our lives. A new baby is coming in early September. SHE doesn't have a name yet, but we are so excited for a little girl. Yes, shopping is fun for her!! Haven't bought much yet, because of my coma, but slowly, I hope to emerge.

A lot of fun things have happened in the past six months. Jeff was elected ASB VP for the next school year, his dream come true. He also got his license, which he is LOVING. He had a fun season playing Volleyball and he was selected to represent our high school at California Boys State. (This is a 70 year old nationwide program sponsored by the American Legion. The boys go to Sacramento for a week, all expenses paid, and learn about Government and Leadership.) It's a big deal and we are thrilled that Jeff was selected. He also went to the Junior Prom with a darling young lady, Abbey. The girls in his Seminary class organized a group and they had a blast. The kids first went to ours (Liberty's, because Jeff is the class Pres) and then went to the other high school's (Heritage). They ended up at one of the girls' house and roasted Starbursts. And in the braggity, braggity, brag section...or the are you kidding me? section, Jeff got a 30 on the ACT. Who knew he was a little whiz kid? He tries hard to hide it.

Awww. Little Jeffy is Big Boy Jeffy. So handsome.

Scotty is also GROWING up. He is now taller than me with huge feet and very hairy legs. How does this happen? Scotty will be 'graduating' from 8th grade in a few days and it's on to high school. NOOOOOOOOOOOO! He had an awesome soccer season this spring. He played goalie half the time, which added gray to my already silver head. He loved the challenge, I hated the stress. He has an A in Geometry and will be starting high school in Algebra II, hope he doesn't expect help from me! He's looking forward to all the adventures that high school brings, and seminary. He's really looking forward to that, ha! (Actually, he is my only child that gets himself up and ready with no fuss. I deserve him.) Oh, and I think he might be noticing girls. maybe.

Awww. Did I mention that his comb is his most valued possession? The whole house is in a turmoil if he can't find it. No kidding.

And for your viewing pleasure....the cutest boy of all!!

Awwww.

The year in review, slacker edition

2011-01-02T21:26:00.000-08:00

The year in review, that sounds like a whole heckuva lotta reading!!

Lucky for us that due to my advancing age, I can't really remember a whole lot of details!
2010...glad it's gone, looking forward to 2011.

We had some family pictures taken, frankly...it was a disaster. We didn't get a good/decent picture of the whole family, Rachel was totally on one. But there are some good pictures of everyone individually. So I'll give a little review using the pictures.

Rachel:

Rachel is 27. 27!?!?! How can that be? I only feel 35ish.
Rachel is the most precious of our children. We are so thankful that she is here with us despite of her many disabilities. We finally found a good care home for her. She is well taken care of and seems content. When I go to get her, she hops up squealing. People ask all the time if she knows people, I can say definitely "yes", she knows us. Rachel is going to a special day class everyday where she does little art projects, goes into the community, has an exercise class etc... she loves our kitty Scout and is totally fascinated by Carter. She's just like the rest of us, we're all fascinated by him also!!

Mitch:

Ah, my handsome son. Mitch is 24 and we think finally he is on his way.
He moved out with a friend to a house in a nearby town and started school this year. He thrilled and surprised us by getting a 3.5 gpa!
Mitch loves music and spends time perfecting his drum playing. His goal is to be a sound engineer; not quite sure what that is, but he assures me that it's a real career. Hopefully this is the start of good things for him. Now if we could just find the right girl for him....

Lauren:

Lauren is loving life! All she has ever wanted is to be a mom, and she loves every second of raising Carter. The Evans family lives in Rexburg while Skyler finishes his last two semesters at BYU-I. Then it's off to warmer climates for them! Lauren is loving learning new things like cooking, home decorating and child development. She continues to be the ***spark***in our family, life is not quiet when she's home! We all love and miss her so much and look forward to her visits. We are so proud of our beautiful daughter.

Jeff:

2010 was a very eventful year for Jeff. He transformed into a different person! No braces, contacts, growing about 7 inches all in one year. He was elected Jr. class President, played Varsity Volleyball, got his Driver's permit, was active in Leadership at school, interns/job shadows at a local grade school once a week, spreads Jeffy Joy all over campus, was on the selection committee for our new Principal...Jeff was busy learning some great Leadership skills. He's got an exciting year ahead of him...running for an ASB office, playing either tennis or Volleyball, getting his license, first date (I had to say that because he will get really mad at me and that cracks me up) and the beginning of his Senior year. I also can't give a synopsis of his year without mentioning the single greatest event of his year. The Giants winning the World Series...we can also look forward to watching 162 games again this year. Lucky us. His four favorite words are: Rude, Giants and Panda Express.

Scotty:

Scotty is 14 and the changes are freaking me out!! Scotty boy has grown about 6 inches, is taller than me.. :( He is talking to me in this strange low mannish voice and the peach fuzz on his lip is mysteriously gone, and he's only in 8th grade!! Scotty loved soccer this year and had a great season. He kicked 24 goals and made the All-Star team again. He has been on the Yearbook staff at school, is taking Geometry, and gets excellent grades. Scotty is well liked by everyone; he's a little on the shy side but he is really centered and goal oriented. He is setting his sights on a career someday in Science. Just to totally tick off the rest of my kids....Scotty is very loving and affectionate (and is a champion brown-noser). Nothing wrong with a little brown nose.

Skyler:

Skyler is the fun in our family. We love this son of ours and we are all so happy that Lauren had the good sense to marry him!!! Seriously, he cracks us all up constantly; he made me laugh so hard I had to pull over to the side of the road to avoid getting in an accident. He is finishing up his studies in Business at BYU-I and then who knows? He loves to fly-fish and I cemented his love for me by giving him a Bass Pro Shop gift card and actually taking him there. Skyler is a wonderful husband and Dad. He loves his little family so much and we are so thankful for him.
I scare him all the time by telling him that I want to live next door. I'm kidding, kind of.

My favorite boys!

Carter:

Carter...Carter...Carter...
I could talk about him all day. He is the light of our lives, we are fascinated by him and every move he makes. His hair is the prettiest copper penny red, his eyes are so blue and his little smile lights up our world. We are so thankful for him. He is a spunky, full of personality little guy. We're lucky he's ours to love.

Byron & Jeni:

Could this be a more unflattering picture? Oh well.
"How's Byron?" is the most asked question in my life.
He's hanging in there.
2010 was a tough year on him, and me by default.
In November of 2009 Byron was diagnosed with prostate cancer to go along with his lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis. 2010 was spent seeking treatment. So far, nothing has worked out. The three "common" treatments are impossible because of other health concerns/factors. #4 treatment is rare and usually a 'last ditch' option. We are waiting to hear if he can have this treatment. In the meantime he developed a condition called rheumatoid vasculitis, a very painful condition as it means he develops large, deep wounds on his legs. Byron has gone every week since June to a wound specialist and has had his legs cleaned and wrapped in soft casts. He has also had problems with swelling and lung function. We feel that we have spent the year dodging bullets, one serious condition after another. It has been difficult and sometimes it's hard to have a sense of humor, but we're plugging along. He IS still working, going to school every day. He is exhausted at the end of each day and the weekends are spent catching up on energy for the next week. I admire his fortitude. We are thankful for the prayers we know are said on our behalf,

ME! I too am plugging along. This year has had many highs and lows. Every minute spent with Carter are the highs and watching Byron struggle is the low. Also this year, my niece Lacey passed away at 34 from cancer. She and I had a special bond from the day she was born. Spending the last few days of her life with her was precious to me but also very scary. It was a special time as some family broken fences were mended and Lacey regained her lost faith. One of the tremendous highs for me was going on a 12 day trip with my two friends Vicki and Pam and Pam's daughter Shaelie. We went to the church historical sites, which for me was a dream come true! It was a time of fun, laughter, peace and strengthened faith for me. I was so blessed to be able to go. I am still at Liberty High, although I have a new "boss" and new responsibilities this year. I also still teach Seminary, a real blessing in my life. I love being busy and I am. Life is challenging and humbling...but as my mom always said..."it sure beats the alternative!"

Cute pictures of Carter preempted by....

2010-11-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

THE GIANTS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!

WOOT-WOOT!!

It's a good thing you really can't die of happiness, I'd miss Jeff!

Oh yeah.

PS. Thank you Dave Harlow. We, the loyal Giant's fan obviously owe it all to you.
Lincecum, Cain, Posey, Uribe, Huff, Ross, Torres, Renteria, Wilson...
All minor players compared to Dave "the beard" Harlow.
Lot of Happy.

We got the fever!!!

2010-10-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

We love baseball at our house.
We REALLY love the Giants.

I am pretty sure that we have watched or listened to every single one of the 160 regular games and were GLUED to the TV for the 10 post season games.
Dying of heart attacks.
Seriously.

A highlight of Jeff's year was 5 trips to watch his team play. This time with a bunch of friends from school.

For his birthday all he wanted was to go to AT & T park, even though the season hadn't started.
While there he added two shirts to his collection. I think we are up to about 19-20 Giants shirts in our house. (almost a month's supply....)

The first trip baby clothes shopping we bought a Giants outfit.
Gotta train 'em young!!

Now we are the National League Champions!!!!

You may know this boy as Jeff....

But tonight he has a new title....

The happiest boy alive!
Guaranteed.

Road Trippin' it with the BFF's!!

2010-10-10T22:08:00.001-07:00

So....I did something totally selfish and I have to admit, I loved every minute of it.
I have gone to girl's camp a bazillion times, but that is actually church service.
I have gone on sisters trip with my sisters, but that is family bonding time.

I realize that most people hate reading other's vacation blogs...but oh well. My feelings won't be hurt ( much), I read yours after all! I was completely selfish...left my ill husband and my two teen-aged able bodied sons and didn't really feel too bad about. Sometimes you just gotta take care of yourself. right? (I need validation here folks!)

An opportunity to go on a church history trip with two of my bestest friends was dropped in my lap. After about 12 minutes of thought...I decided to go! Pam, my friend of 25 (!) years had decided that since we are teaching Church History in seminary...she wanted to go see the sights we are teaching about. Vicki, our other BFF, loves to travel so she volunteered to put the trip together. So the two of them planned, reserved, and mapped out the entire trip. I showed up with a suitcase. (really, I did NOTHING to plan at all. They even bought my ticket one night when they found a great deal. Pam just called and made sure she got all the details right and informed me what I owed. Best way to go...!)

After stressing for a couple of weeks and almost backing out several dozen times, Vicki's husband picked us up at 3:30am to go to the airport. Ugh. I honestly couldn't believe I was going to see all the sites I have always wanted to visit! Just the mere word "Nauvoo" makes me misty and now I was headed there! This was truly a dream come true for me and to share it with Pam and Vicki made it all the more special. (Disclaimer: Going with my family would be the optimal trip, but since it is an impossibility right now with Byron's health...going with my great friends was the next best thing.)

Pam & Vicki at our car rental. Our little friend Payton calls us her fairy godmothers.
We are just like Sleeping Beauty's godmothers...the tall one, the pretty one and the round one. Guess which one I am?

I'll spare you the entire travelogue and the 643 pictures I took (not an exaggeration), but I will share some of the highlights of our adventure and some of my favorite things. Because I have major control issues, I drove the whole time. This worked out great, they could see everything and I could be in the drivers seat, literally. One of the great things about going with your girlfriends? If you see somewhere you want to go...you can!! They're not going to argue and tell you to hurry up! If you see, say , a billboard that says "Walt Disney's hometown!" and you want to see it...chances are, so do they!!! It was awesome.

In front of the Visitor's Center in Independence, MO., just outside of Kansas City and the only rain we got the whole trip. It rained for about 30 minutes, we were blessed with great weather.

This is 'The Temple' for the Community of Christ church, which used to be called the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was huge and we really wanted to go in because anyone can. We just got there too late. It really is called "The Temple", at least that's what the big sign out front said.

This may look like a vacant field to you, but it is not. This is the sacred site where someday a temple will be built. It was humbling to stand on this consecrated land.

We were driving around Independence and look what we found!! Harry Truman's house! Remember what I said about traveling with your family...perfect example. We saw, we stopped, we high fived! Oh, this is where I need a little shout out for Pam's GPS system that came with us. Awesome, except when I would turn wrong, I need a little help with right and left. The poor GPS girl was always "recalculating" and telling me to stay on the prescribed route. Oops, my bad.

We went to Liberty, MO. Liberty was the place where Joseph Smith was held on false charges for five long months with four other men. This was an exact reproduction of that jail, it was built on the precise place that the original prison was. To see the 4 foot thick walls with two small windows, low ceilings and no real ventilation and to realize that five men survived an entire winter here, is beyond belief. Surely they were sustained by their faith and by angels.

This is a replica of the Book of Mormon, if you are one of my non-LDS friends and want to know what this is....ask me!!!

This is the home of Alexander Doniphan, he was a great friend to the early Mormons, although not a member of the church himself. It was one of literally thousands of cute homes we saw and 'ooohed and aaahed' over!

We drove out to Far West, MO, which holds the remnant corner stones of a temple that the saints had hoped to build. There is nothing here, no old log cabins restored etc...just some plaques telling the significance of Far West. The saints had come here from Ohio, a very long distance, hoping to build it up as a safe place for them. But it was not to be; It was here that the anti-Mormon mobs drove the saints out in the dead of winter, some with no shoes and feet wrapped in rags. How sad and heartbroken they must have been to have to leave this beautiful land that had been promised to them as a safe place. Our hearts were heavy as we walked around Far West and looked at the magnificent landscape; the early Saints suffered so much, would we be as faithful as they?'

The valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman. A very special place indeed. The spirit of God is very strong here, and the tears flowed freely.

Thank goodness they have Diet Pepsi in Missouri.

Cute house huh?

It's Walt Disney's boyhood home!! Who knew he was from MO???
We went downtown Marceline, MO, it looks just like Main Street USA in Disneyland!
Seriously!!

Trip to be continued.....

Living in Mayberry

2010-09-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

I love the town I live in. It sits at the base of Mt. Diablo and is bordered on two sides by rolling hills that are green for about 2 months in the spring, the rest of the year they are a beautiful gold. We also have the Sacramento River Delta bordering another side and the rest is farmland. Farmers here grow Cherries (see Groundhog Day with Celia Fae), apricots, Fuji apples, strawberries, scrumptious white corn and oodles and oodles of tomatoes. From Memorial Day to Labor Day we have farm stands selling all kinds of fruits, vegetables, homemade jams, dried fruits and pies. Developers have planted a lot of houses in the past 10 years, I'm not so in love with that.

Brentwood is also centrally located for fun. Skiing is only 2 hours or so to the east. The California coast, Santa Cruz, Redwoods etc... is only 1 1/2 hours away. If you're a "foodie" Sonoma and Napa Valley are a little over an hour. We have two amusement parks within an hour, the capital an hour and a half north, Yellowstone is only 3 hours away to the southeast and San Francisco and all the museums, sports teams and crazy people are also only an hour to the west.

When Byron and I married, we knew that we would settle here. It is only an hour from my hometown of Modesto and Byron's entire family live here. Brentwood was a little like Mayberry and a little like the Cheers bar...25 years ago when we came, every one knew your name and any scandals spread like wildfire. I couldn't "run" to the grocery store, it was a sure fire hour long commitment because I knew so many people. At that time we knew it was the perfect place to raise our family. Over the years we have watched stoplights come, chain grocery stores, a bowling alley, fast food restaurants,sports leagues, a aquatic center and now, a mall. It's still a great place to raise kids...just bigger.

My children have all attended Liberty High School, a school with 105 years of tradition. We have two high schools in town now. It makes me sad because there are cross town rivalries and all that goes with that. One of the wonderful, sweet traditions we have at Liberty is the down town Homecoming parade. This was Homecoming weekend, so for my Lauren who loves her school and still bleeds Cardinal and Gold....pictures!!

Our Homecoming Rally on the Football field, the booth was built in 1953.

My favorite student, the Jr. Class President, decked out in Liberty colors. He takes his school spirit seriously.

The Jr. Skit, complete with the Liberty Lion and minus the President, who was too busy to go to
practices...he was totally bummed. Not.

.

Two of my very favorites, #9 is my TA, #26 spends a lot of time in my office, he doesn't TA for me. Get it?

This is our Leadership teacher, she looks like one of the kids. I want to adopt her I love her that much.

"Extinguish the Eagles!" The Jr. class float.

The Junior rooter truck...for once Jeff's loud voice came in handy!

The Employees of the Year...I'm still (not) bitter about being nominated and LOSING six years in a row. I would love the parking spot, but I don't know about the back of the car riding in the parade. It doesn't seem too flattering.

Our death defying Cheerleaders. They really are impressive.

Our marching band, 70 members strong. And they sound pretty good!!!

The Math and Physics club float, yes, the stereotypes are correct.

The FFA float, they were practicing roping on it, and chewing...hay.

The Transition program float. This is the program at Liberty my Rachel attended. All the students have mental and physical disabilities. They are a beloved group of students, and are mainstreamed and really cared for by our "normal" kids. This is one reason Liberty is a great school. Last year a young man with autism won Homecoming King by a landslide.

The Senior float won the competition. Duh. They always win. That yellow square...what does it look like to you? I thought it was Spongebob, which didn't really fit the title. Turns out it's a waffle...

.
Our Queen Brooke. She really is a sweet girl and beautiful too!! Love her.

Our King, Tony (in the black tux). He is our star football player so he wasn't in the parade.
He's a sweet kid, love him.

Our very diverse Homecoming Court, all fabulous kids!

The dance. The girls are adorable, I wish they had worn a bit more however....

PS. Don't you just LOVE my new bloggy layout? My ultra-fabulous daughter Lauren, who I love dearly and is SO SO SO creative.... spent HOURS designing it.

PPS. Here's my gratuitous picture of my favorite subject...have I mentioned I adore him?
And his parents.

Happy Birthday to me...

2010-08-17T00:02:00.000-07:00

It's my birthday!
Shout Hooray!

This year I:

Didn't cure cancer
Didn't go anywhere spectacular
Didn't lose any weight
In fact, I gained weight
Didn't win employee of the year, (but who's bitter?)
Taught Seminary again
Got a new boss, 2 new bosses to be exact
Learned how to make jewelry
Tried a ton of new recipes
Reconnected with my father (after 20 years...)
Moved offices
Redid a bedroom
Read 22 books (The Help was my fave)
Drank appx. 9600+ ounces of Diet Pepsi. (that doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment...)
Talked Jeff into taking piano lessons
Sat through at least 100 hours of soccer game
Didn't spend nearly enough time with friends
Read the Book of Mormon
Cried tears of joy and tears of sorrow and was thankful for every tear shed
Officially became the shortest one in my family
Went to Idaho four times
Spent way too much $$$ on fabric
Made new friends
Sat through at least 50 hours of Volleyball games
Stood in line for meds at Kaiser for a bazillion hours (this is NOT an exaggeration)
Kept my car relatively clean
Said "good bye" to my sweet, beautiful niece Lacey
Spent quality time with my sisters, how I love them!
Prayed more fervently
Put 18,000 miles on my car
made four quilts
didn't clean my closet
didn't go to Disneyland :(
watched or listened to 160 Giants games (thank you sons...)
Got an I-phone
Didn't exercise (see #3) (and #4)
Spent hours roasting in the sun and praying that I don't pay for it someday
Read blogs, blogs and more blogs.
Missed friends that have moved
Wished for more wisdom and patience
Laughed, but not nearly enough
Became more patriotic
Faced more bad health news about Byron
Learned things about the body I never thought I would need to know
Got a Facebook page and an addiction to Scrabble
Rejoiced in my kids successes
Had knee surgery
Ate my weight in chocolate (maybe a slight exaggeration...)
Came to accept myself a little better
Counted my blessings

But THE MOST WONDERFUL?

Became a Grandma to Carter! duh.

A sweet baby needs prayers

2010-07-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that when my daughter Rachel was six months old she sustained a traumatic head injury that resulted in her being left multiply handicapped. This event changed my life and the lives of our family forever. We are so blessed to have our sweet girl despite her many challenges.

Preslee Sullinger, 19 months

My daughter Lauren told me of a tragic accident in the life of a friend of hers. I would like to share it with all I can, as this sweet baby needs your prayers and her parents need a miracle. Last Friday her friend Ashley left her baby, Preslee, with her parents. Somehow, Preslee fell into an irrigation canal, no one saw her fall. Two miles down river a farmer was in the canal and felt something bump his leg, he looked down and saw that it was a baby. He immediately pulled her from the water and started CPR. Preslee was life flighted to Primary Children's Hospital where she is fighting for her life. Ashley's aunt is keeping a constant update regarding little Preslee's progress. The blog is here.

I don't know this family, but I do know the power of prayer. As a mother and a grandmother, my heart goes out to this sweet little family. At times like this it is difficult to remember that God has a plan for all our lives and this is part of His plan for Preslee and her family. Having been in a similar life and death situation with the unknown looming before us, my heart is full of love for Preslee and her family. My thoughts are also with her Grandparents and the heartache they are feeling. I wanted to share the story with as many as possible, Preslee and her family needs our love and prayers.

What did we do without him?

2010-05-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

It's hard to describe what a tiny 6 lb redhead did to our family.
What did we talk about, laugh about, love wholeheartedly before him?

Carter is six months old and it's impossible to imagine life without him.

I often wonder if I loved my own children as much as I love him?
I'm sure I did, but this little guy has stolen our hearts.
When they say your own kids are great, but just wait till you have grandchildren...
They're right!!!

He's now 6 months old, 15 lbs. 13oz, 27" tall.

He loves his feet,

going on the swings...

Playing with toys...

THE GIANTS...

licking soda cans,

peaches....

red licorice,

rolling all over the house,

Coming to Gramma and Grampa's house...

His Momma...

His Daddy...

(this picture cracked me up)

He's a happy, happy boy!

And did I mention he's brilliant?

(And if you look closely, he's showing you just what he thinks of Daddy having to do homework.)

Calling the Marriage Refs....

2010-04-28T20:35:00.001-07:00

A very small part of Mr. Neat and Tidy's music collection.

Oh, where to start....

My husband, Byron, LOVES movies, music and books. We have literally thousands of these forms of entertainment. He is a methodical, neat, ultra organized guy. He alphabetizes his possessions and puts them in height order. Our books are very neatly put away, all the same distance from the edge. His movies are alphabetized. His CD's are organized by genre and then alphabetized. He likes to clean, which elevates him to a god-like level to most women. (He also loves to shop...I know, you're jealous.) Our house is neat and tidy and the dishes always done. He vacums, he puts away things When he had to retire from one career - he joyfully went to school to embark on a new career. He takes care of us, doesn't mind how many pairs of shoes I own, buys me purses for gifts, doesn't complain about my width, how much my hair costs and my monthly pedis....what? you ask...what could I need a marriage ref for when, obviously I am married to the perfect man?

THIS......

Yep, this hangs in my bedroom directly across from my bed. It's the first thing I see in the morning (after I put on my glasses) and the last thing I see at night. THIS is why I need a referee.

So, how did it get there...the focal point of the part of my bedroom, the room that is supposed to be a sanctuary? He says I'm lucky, he really wanted to hang it in the living room! Oh yeah, lucky me.

The story of how this came to be...

For years there hung a picture in my room of Byron and his friends on a white water rafting trip. The picture was taken at a class 5 rapids, you could see the terror and joy on all their faces. This was the pinnacle adventure, man vs. the wild! It was a little bizarre having Barry, Jeff, Kent, Brad and Howard all staring at me while I was dressing, but I got over it and just lived with it.

Then, that picture was replaced with this one:

The Avengers, ah....Byrons' favorite TV show as a youth. He had a mad crush on Diana Rigg and her alter ego, Emma Peel. I even bought him the collection for Christmas one year, feeding the fire as it were. Obviously I am as good of a wife as he is a husband. He then found this little mini poster and stuck it up in our room. Whatever. It wasn't worth the effort of fighting over.

Then he tried to hang this vintage poster of his favorite 60's horror movie. It hung for about a month and I threw a fit. Um, no.

I'm a loving patient wife, actually, no, not so much when it comes to this. There's a limit.

About a month ago Byron discovered this book:

He LOVED it. The best book he had EVER read,which really is saying quite a bit. He was engrossed, mesmerized...read it during his prep period, read it in the bathroom, late at night, in the car while I drove. The guy LOVED this book. He drove right over to B&N's the night he finished to buy book #2 which picks up exactly where #1 ends. Same drill, read and read and read. Byron was bummed out when he read it all and the #3 doesn't come out for a month. Sad, sad Byron.

ANYHOW...Byron found out this was a movie made in Sweden. He looked until he found it playing in a little art house theatre. He and his sister went to see it and loved it, truly loved it. So, Then he ordered the movie, in Swedish, (because we speak so much swedish around here...)

AND THEN...he found the movie poster. AND ORDERED IT. AND HUNG IT UP IN MY ROOM....WITH THUMBTACKS.

Just in case you missed it the first time....

Seriously, it's the first thing you see when you walk in. The girl lurks over your head if you are sitting watching tv. When I wake up and put my eyes in....there she is, menacing, daring me to have a good day. Some chick with piercings and tattoos bidding me farewell every morning. Jeesch.

So marriage refs....what say you?

PS. He says it's staying. We'll see.

Hail to the Chief!

2010-04-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to $21 worth of smarties and dum-dums...

And Primo posters by big sister (and the veteran of many campaigns...) Lauren

And big ole' banners painted on sheets....

95 YUMMY Chocolate Chips cookies decorated with Liberty Cardinal and Gold M & M's .....
(thank you Marty!! ) that I forgot to take a picture of, but I guarantee you...they were SAH-WEEEEET!!!!

And fancy "Vote for Jeff T-shirts" worn all over campus....

A post-poned- for- the- weekend election, (just to rattle the nerves!)

Introducing the Junior Class President at Liberty High School 2010-11!!
Woot-wooot!!!

I'm so proud of Jeff for working hard and putting himself out there, for having school spirit, for being so friendly and kind to everyone, for setting a good example that IS really noticed, for wanting to make changes and work hard so that his classmates can have a great Junior year.
Way to go Jeff!!!

So the really pressing question is:

If Jeff is the President...what does that make me? The first lady? The Queen Mother?
Busy? Yep, that's what I'm gonna be....busy.

Just call me Susan...

2010-04-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

Today is a sad, sad day for me.

But I scraped myself up off the floor to share my sadness.

I have worked at Liberty High School for six lovely, action packed, busy, enlightening years.
I have given my heart and soul (not to mention TONS of $$ on fundraisers, financing my childrens campaigns, dances, yearbooks, cute clothes to wear while working...okay, those were totally for me, but STILL....) to this school.

I have worked LOOOOONG hours, I have worn many hats, I have been the "Mikey" of Liberty...got a project? "Give it to Jeni...Jeni will do it!!!"

Testing? Give it to Jeni!
Honor Roll? Give it to Jeni!
SIP Chair? Give it to Jeni!!
Every 15 Minutes? Give it to Jeni!!
Class Advisor? Jeni will do it!!
Chaperone at dances? Jeni will do it!!
Sit on a rooter bus for 26 hours with 46 teenagers? Jeni will do it!!
Decorate? Jeni will do it!
Achievement Night and Breakfast of Champions? Give it to Jeni!!
WASC Committee? Give it to Jeni!!

I could go on and on and on..... (I know, I already did...I tell you, it's a sad day...)

So for my service and dedication, I have nominated for Employee of the Year.
Every year, for the past six years.
Including this year....

And EVERY year, including this year,

I lose.

Me...at the end of a long day, no makeup, sad and with a cold sore. Lovely. I obviously have no pride.

Six years in a row. I lose.

It's a popularity contest, and I will never win one of those.
I am not a good suck-up or a phony.
I'm me, for the good and/or the bad...
I'm me.
So I lost AGAIN.
I don't really care about the honor, I have been in a parade before and I wouldn't get a raise. But DANG-IT!!! , I really wanted that parking place for the next year. It's all about the parking place.

Susan Lucci lost 18 times, so I have a ways to go.
In 12 years I probably will retire, that's when I'll win.
When I won't need the parking place anymore.

Console me.

Well...well...would you look at this!

2010-04-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

A gratuitous picture of Carter with Uncle Jeffy!

April is shaping up to be a great month for Jeff.

Jeff is playing Varsity Volleyball, his second love after baseball. He is having a blast and even though they haven’t won even one game, he is happy, happy, happy.

He found out he ~~passed~~ totally aced his CA High School Exit Exam. Perfect score on the English and only missed two on the Math! Way to go Jefe!

He’s going to finish his Driver’s Ed this month; then it’s off to get a permit.

He’s put his hat in the ring to run for Junior Class President….wish him luck!!

And then there’s the Soph Hop. The Soph Hop is a 75 year tradition at Liberty HS. All the grades are invited, but it is sponsored by the sophomores. At the dance the Soph Court is announced and a Prince and Princess are crowned.

The night of the big dance we went to pick up Hayley, Jeff’s best friend. She is darling and I love her. Sadly, her mother went and fell in love and married some guy from Washington…now Hayley is moving. I’m heartbroken.

So, on the way to pick up Hayley, Jeff told me to just honk on the horn. Um….NO! You will go up and knock on the door like a gentleman. “UGH…” was the sigh from my manners-deficient son.

Hayley and her bff, Becca came out of the house.

Then, and this just tickles me…Hayley’s dad came running out with a camera... “WAIT!! I want pictures!”

Jeff wanted to die on the spot, he was horrified.

I, however, was thrilled. I don’t what thrilled me more, how cute they were or that another parent started the embarrassment this time, not me.

So, I of course, whipped out MY camera, rubbing salt in his wounds, and snapped a couple of pictures.

“Mother, “ he hissed, “this is no big deal…why are you embarrassing me?”

Because I can. That’s why. It’s my right.

So off to the dance we go!!! I was chaperoning.

(A side note to all mothers, unless you have a stomach of steel and/or are completely blind, DON’T chaperone a dance. It is THE most hideous experience EVER. Why? Because of the way kids dance now. What happened to the hustle or the jerk or good old square dancing? And the dresses….oh my. All night girls were tugging at the top or the hem or both. And FYI…under those teenie-tiny dresses? They’re wearing thongs and not the kind you put on your feet! Poke your sons’ eyes out with hot pokers before they go…you don’t have to thank me for the advice, my pleasure.)

We’re at the dance! Everyone looks beautiful, a little “under dressed” (if you know what I mean…) but very sparkly and pretty.

For some reason, and I still can’t figure why; I am given the responsibility of announcing the Prince and Princess!

"Liberty High School …your Sophomore Court for 2010 is….. for the girls:"

Cute girl #1

Cute girl #2

Cute twin girls #’s 3 & 4

Really nice cute girl #5

And for the boys:

Jeff Groseclose! Jeff Groseclose!! Jeff Groseclose!!!

Blah-blah #2

Blah-Blah #3

Blah- Blah #4

Blah-Blah #5

Jeff and Ana Silvia

It was so fun to see how happy he was. He’s not the typical “Joe-Popular Jock Stud”. He’s a very nice, very fun, very happy,very moral, very friendly boy who's a good student and involved in school.

And his classmates realized that he is a really nice guy and gave him quite an honor.

Some wisdom...too bad I didn't think of it....

2010-03-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

This is me.

As you can tell, I am not thin. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

I could say I'm not fat, I am just under-tall.
Well, that could be a couple of inches (feet) of the problem, if I was 7'3" I'd probably look just fine.
5'2" isn't cutting it.

I could say that it is all a metabolism problem.
It's not, it's a chocolate and second helpings problem.

I could blame it all on my children.
I could and would probably get away with it, if my youngest was one.
He's not, he's 13.

Maybe it's all the stress in my life.
I really could get away with that, I'm sure.
Why can't I be one of those who don't eat when stressed?
I feel ripped off on that one.

I have read two ultra fabulous blogs on this very subject in the past two days.
I share them with you, wish I was this grown-up and mature.
I will try to adopt the vision of these two, very wise women.
Read their wisdom HERE and HERE.

I need to rethink how I look at myself.
I need to appreciate myself and be able to poke fun if need be,
in an unapologetic way.
I need to be comfortable in the skin that I have created for myself.
I need to be proud of all I have accomplished
and it has NOTHING to do with my size, or lack of size.

I need to celebrate that I have a wonderful bunch of kids,
I do good things every day for people.
I am compassionate, I love to give service.
I am a good and loyal friend.
I am pretty wonderful.... darn it.
And it has nothing to do with my size.

Now, this isn't to say I shouldn't try a little harder,
eat healthier, just say no to calories
Get my ample end out walking every day...
I'd probably feel better.
But I don't want my life to be defined by my size.
I want to be defined by how I live my life each day.
Happy and content, no matter what the scale says.

At least I have good hair and a cute grandson.

Sweet Sixteen!

2010-03-17T23:54:00.000-07:00

Today my Jeff is 16...how in the world did that happen?

Really, its seems like last week this energetic, happy go lucky, everyone loves him child entered our lives. He came into the world a whopping 5 lbs 4 oz and now is our tallest and biggest child. In every way. His personality is big, his voice is big, his love for life is HUGE!

I've posted this before, but it's so cute, I had to re-post it...

For Jeff's birthday we took him to Mecca.....

Most people call it AT & T park, home of the San Francisco Giants," THE best team in all sports" (guess he forgets their record for the past few years...) Jeff told me that other than the Oakland Temple, this is the most sacred place in the whole bay area. Here, in the Dugout store Jeff added to his already rather large Giants T-shirt collection. His goal? To have a shirt for every day of the month. We already have 2+ weeks covered. Makes shopping for him easy!! Opening day is only 18 days away. Lucky us. They play 162 games a year and EVERY one of them will be broadcast in our home. You wish you were me don't you?

We had a surprise party for Jeff this year. Lauren went and picked him up from Volleyball practice and brought him to the bowling alley. He came in and saw a bunch of his friends there and got sad because they were all having fun and didn't invite him. :( I told him to just ignore them and have fun. Go get your shoes and go to lane #7...he walked up and they yelled surprise! He was thrilled, didn't have a clue. (score one for mom!)

Look who came to the party!!!!

The kids bowled, (Jeff got 5 strikes in a row!! wowza) came back to the house and got "glow" stick necklaces and bracelets and went to our local park and played night games. The kids that came are all amazing kids, love them all. They are so nice, polite, funny, can't say enough good about them! It's 12:30 am and now they are hysterically watching "Mean Girls". I'm tired, they need to go home. :)

Oh, at Youth Conference this weekend he was in a dating workshop with 149 other kids, at the end of the activity the speaker told them to reach under their seats, one had a flag. Jeff got the flag and the prize!! 2 movie tickets to take someone on a date...

He's 16.

That means dating, school dances, driving (a mixed bag of emotions there...), wonder who he is going to use those two tickets on?

Oh Lord help me...here we go again.

Happy Birthday Jeff! We love you and can't wait to see what the next few years have in store for you!

Oh, and go Giants!

Gathering Feathers

2010-01-18T17:42:00.000-08:00

Very often in my life, too often in fact, I am reminded of this story that our mother used to tell us:

FEATHERS IN THE WIND

There is a 19th century folktale about a man who went about town slandering the town's wise man. One day, he went to the wise man's home and asked for forgiveness. The wise man, realizing that this man had not internalized the gravity of his transgressions, told him that he would forgive him on one condition: that he go home, take a feather pillow from his house, cut it up, and scatter the feathers to the wind. After he had done so, he should then return to the wise man's house.

Though puzzled by this strange request, the man was happy to be let off with so easy a penance. He quickly cut up the pillow, scattered the feathers, and returned to the house.

"Am I now forgiven?" he asked.

"Just one more thing," the wise man said. "Go now and gather up all the feathers."

"But that's impossible. The wind has already scattered them."

"Precisely," he answered. "And though you may truly wish to correct the evil you have done, it is as impossible to repair the damage done by your words as it is to recover the feathers. Your words are out there in the marketplace, spreading hate, even as we speak."

How interesting it is that we, as human beings, are so quick to believe the bad that others say about someone; and so ready to assume the worst regarding another's actions. Why is it that oft times we don't look to our own words and actions but are so ready to point at another?. We've all been told that "Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never harm me." We also know that is totally untrue. While a body will typically recover from a physical injury, the harm caused by direct insults can sometimes last a lifetime, and tear the self-esteem right out of a person.

On the other hand, kind, encouraging words can build a person's self-esteem, help him or her to grow and give them the impetus they need to do great, significant things with their lives. The choice regarding how we speak about or to someone is ours.

I am not the perfect mother by any stretch, but if I can point out one thing I have done right, it's to teach my children to be kind. All of them stick up for the underdog, all of them befriend the one that is lonely, all of them are completely non-judgemental. I wish I could say the same of their mother. I have taught by my words, but not always by my example. I am proud of them for this quality they have all nurtured so well.

I'm not much of a "New Year's Resolution" type of gal, but this principle of kindness and watching what I say is at the top of my list this year. Even ahead of losing weight. Hopefully I'll be more successful at both.

Just some thoughts I had.

My favorite face... or...the post Rachel will love

2010-01-15T06:20:00.000-08:00

Warning....totally lame post.
Unless you like babies, then you'll love it.

I am totally in love with a little tiny guy with a fuzzy red head!!!
So for posterity's sake and just because it's my blog and I can....
pictures of Carter.

I'll try to get back to regular blogging, I just can't get enough of this little face.

This is me sans any make-up, not a good look for me. But isn't that baby sweet?

Yum.

Meeting Auntie Rachel. She gave him kisses and was so gentle with him.

Uncle Mitch was smitten also! He wanted to hold Carter constantly. This warmed my heart.

Carter's fairy Godmother, Rachel.

Lousy picture, sweet friend holding the babe.

I am NOT happy being under the tree!!!

This little boy is truly one of the best gifts our family has ever received. Thank you Skyler and Lauren!

My mother is home from Africa and came to see the baby. Four generations.

Nothing in the world sweeter than a sleeping baby.

He looks shocked that he is sitting up all on his own!!

Is that the Star Trek hand symbol?

Skyler and his Mini-Me

Gotta love a happy baby!

Oh Baby Love!!

2009-12-05T14:20:00.000-08:00

He's here...the man of our dreams!

This is Carter, born on November 30th at 8:29 pm, weighing in at 6 lbs 2 oz, 19 1/2" long.
He is absolutely perfect and we are totally in love! He has dark eyes (right now) and strawberry blonde hair,

Lauren went in to be induced early that morning, her Dr. broke her water at 8:30 and she was hooked up to the Pitocin about 9:00. Everything went well, she hung in there like a trooper until about 2:00, then she wanted the epidural. She was at a '4' so she was good to go. It seemed like she was taking forever to get anywhere and we thought there was going to be a December baby. Around 6:00 the nurse checked her and she was at a '6'. The nurse told her it would be an hour or two per centimeter from that point so we settled in for a long night.

At 7:15 she was feeling a lot of pressure, so the nurse checked her and wowza!! she was dilated to 9 1/2!! Everyone got really busy then...the Dr. was called, the warmer was brought in and a baby nurse was called for! Amy, Skyler's mom and I were lost in the shuffle! I was texting Rachel and Jeffrey the whole time with details, they both wished they were there.

This is about the time I started to cry. All Lauren has ever wanted is to be a Mom and in a short time her dream was to come true. It's overwhelming to watch your baby become a mother. I just prayed and prayed that all would go well and that everyone would be healthy and safe. My prayers were answered. After pushing for less than a hour, he just popped out. It was so fast! What a miracle, one second in the womb, the next breathing and crying. I don't have the words to describe the emotions and experience. Awe inspiring.

Since every birth has a little story to remember it by....so do we. Lauren did awesome, Skyler on the other hand was a mess. He had a terribly infected tooth and was in a ton of pain. He was so drugged on Vicodin that he was a little loopy. His left side of his face was all swollen and he could barely smile. When it came time to push they told him to count, he couldn't. 1..2...3..5...8...6, it was so funny.

Another funny thing was that Amy was totally taking birthing shots on her camera without Lauren knowing, later she was showing her and Lauren was just a little grossed out. Then Skyler told the Dr. he had brought a mason jar for the placenta. The
Dr. looked shocked and we all were hysterical laughing. (He didn't really....)

Later the nurses forgot to give Lauren pain medicine but they sure remembered to give Skyler contraband pain meds!!! It was funny, they were bringing him pillows and blankets and chicken noodle soup.

We are so happy to have him here, he is so precious and wonderful. I could look at him all day and never get bored. I think it is more fun than having your own, and you get more sleep!!!

The Evans Family

For more cute pictures go to Lauren's blog: http://blogginlolo.blogspot.com

Can you REALLY die of excitement?

2009-11-28T21:55:00.001-08:00

She's going to pop!!!
Thanks to some high blood pressure....

MONDAY'S THE DAY!!!!!

Gramibelle is packed and just waiting for the 7:30 am plane flight!

My friend Margo made me a Grandma Survival Kit to help ease the process...
(Notice that she's thinking of ME...not the Mommy? That's a great friend!!!)

My sweet friend Marty is taking my Seminary class...thanks so much!!!

These are Carter's Great Aunties...they're all dying to see him too!!

Grandpa Byron is excited....
Uncle Scotty is excited....
Uncle Mitch is kind of excited...
Uncle Jeffy is very excited...
Great Grandpa & Grandma are excited....
All our relatives who have passed on are saying "good-bye" and giving Carter last minute blessings...

I think I might just burst!!

52 years and counting...

2009-11-21T00:15:00.000-08:00

Today is Byron's birthday. He's 52 and probably really ticked that I put the number out there!!
Because people don't know much about the other half of me...

1. Byron is the third of four Byrons' in his family.
2. His nickname as a child was Barney.
3. Byron is very quiet.
4. Byron has an absolutely killer wicked sense of humor, and timing.
5. Byron totaled his parents car once. Totaled it. Only naughty thing he's ever done.
6. Byron doesn't really like water, like lakes etc... he's waiting for a creepy character to pop out.
7. Which brings me to...Byron loves scary movies. (I pretended to. )

8. Byron LOVES hot dogs.
9. Byron loves amusement parks.
10. Byron doesn't like to wear shoes.
11. Byron keeps a daily record of his doings. (impressive no?)
12. Byron's closet is VERY organized.
13. Byron watches TV in his underwear, (that was for you Andrea)
14. Byron loves to go on cruises.

15. Byron doesn't like chocolate. (what?)
16. Byron went to BYU on a full ride scholarship.
17. Byron scored a 760 out of 800 on his DAT. (smart boy)
18. Byron graduated in the top 10% in his Dental school class.

19. Byron loves the old TV show "The Avengers", ( we have a poster in our room...)
20. Byron LOVES music. His I-pod is close to full.
21. He has thousands and thousands of albums, 8-tracks, cassettes & CD's.
22. They are all in genre and alphabetical order.
23. Byron served a two year mission to Munich, Germany.
24. That's where he learned to love sausage, potatoes and cabbage.
25. Byron was a wild, wild, wild little boy.

26. Byron loves animals.
27. Byron loves to shop. (yes friends, you read that right...he LOVES to shop.)
28. Byron got three B's in college...Pearl of Great Price, Bowling and Organic Chemistry.
29. Byron can not tan. He burns very well however...
30. Byron likes to vacum and clean up.
31. Byron LOVES, LOVES, LOVES soda pop.
32. Byron is a fan of the SF Giants.

33. Byron is a night owl.
34. Byron is now a Science teacher.
35. Going places with Byron is like going places with Mr. Wizard.

36. Byron is very neat and tidy. (opposites attract.)
37. Byron is very gentle and soft spoken. (see above)
38. Byron is a very loyal son.
39. Byron has a mind of useless trivia.
40. No one likes to play games with him. He always wins.

41. Byron loves to watch Chelsea Lately. (it's his one vice...)
42. Byron was never once grounded in his life. (see side bar of #36)
43. Byron doesn't like ice cream, or dessert in general. (CAN NOT Relate)
44. Byron has very nice, readable handwriting. He flunked chicken scratch in Dental school.
45. Byron used to run track.
46. Byron used to play club volleyball and racquetball.
47. Everyone loves Byron.
48. Byron loves his kids fiercely.

49. Byron would rather be with his family than anywhere in the world.
50. Byron is very tolerant of his family's reality TV addictions.

51. Byron is excited about being a Grandpa!
52. Byron is very brave.

And.....

53. Byron shares a birthday with our son-in-law Skyler! Happy Birthday to two of my favorite guys ever!!!

My little hidden talent...

2009-11-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

It's official...I am officially burned out as a creative mother.
For years and years I sewed masterpiece costumes...
A killer tomato, a shark, Harry Potter, various Pokeman characters, princesses, purple dinosaurs, skunks, mice, Genie's, Cheerleaders, Little Bo Peep.....
nothing was too labor intensive for me.

This year?
Jeff was a nerd...loved it, didn't cost a dime or a minute of my time.
Scotty was a ghost. An old sheet, a pair of scissors and a Sharpie.
And I didn't do a thing. I even forgot to take pictures.
I'm not even a Good Enough Mom.

Carter...Grammibelle promises to get her Halloween Mojo back by next year!

In the meantime....

It's well documented that I can sew.
I can cook too, as evidenced by my backside.

I can organize events.
I can soothe angry, out of control teenagers.

I can garden and grow things.
I can laugh (ha!) at just about anything.

I have some talents.
But the one I secretly pat myself on the back for?

I can carve a pumpkin.

I know it's not curing cancer or bringing world peace,
but it requires patience
and that's something I have in short supply most days.

You don't have to be impressed,
I am impressed enough for the both of us.
Hope I don't break my arm patting myself on the back.

This one is for Jeff who is still devastated that his team isn't in the World Series.

Scotty carved this one!! Chip off the old block!!! Momma is so proud.

The little boy next door loved this one..."oooooh scawwy"

Love this one!

I'm trying to think what I can carve for Christmas.

Photography by Jeff

Royalty

2009-10-14T21:13:00.001-07:00

Lauren...Homecoming 2005...Liberty High School

Skyler....who knows when...some alternate universe...he held out on us....we didn't know he was royalty also. Thank you Facebook

This is why I love my son in law.

I realize that this is probably only hysterical to me, I saw it on Facebook and nearly bust a gut laughing. Posterity post. Their kids are going to love this someday.

Four people...eight days...two continents....

2009-10-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

Sounds very fun huh?

It's fall break around these parts, and per tradition...we leave Brentwood for a week.

This year we took two separate vacations, something new for us!

Scotty and Byron went to England and Scotland.

Scotty's grandparents take all their grandchildren on a 12 year old trip to anywhere they want to go. England has two of Scotty's most favorite things....Soccer and the Beatles. It was a "dream come true", (nice to have all your dreams come true at 12!)

Jeff and I went to Idaho; (which is like a foreign country isn't it?)

Just in time for the potato harvest and before the first snow. Have I mentioned that my daughter Lauren and her husband Skyler are having a baby in 9 weeks?

I went to help set up baby's room and to sew...to craft...and to help my daughter nest. A grandbaby!! All my dreams coming true at 50!!

Let's compare trips................

Byron and Scotty flew in a luxurious airplane for 22 total hours with instant drinks and snacks and movies.

Jeff and I traveled 28 hours across the Nevada desert at a leisurely pace of 55 mph. Thanks to the 164 miles of road construction and ample highway patrolmen to keep us honest. The slower than average speed allowed us to see the sagebrush and sand so much clearer than usual. Lucky us.

Road construction in Cali also.....

Scotty and Byron went to Harrod's department store. It is a full city block and five stories of wonderfulness.

Jeff and I went to the newly remodeled Rexburg Wal-Mart. And Porter's, three times.

Scotty got real English soccer jerseys and Beatle's apparel.
Jeff got a BYU-I sweatshirt.

Scotty visited Beatrix Potter's and Anne Hathaway's homes.
Jeff visited Deseret Books and a couple of quilt shops and Sno-Oasis.

Scotty and Byron visited castles and quaint little villages rich in history. They ate true fish and chips and pasties and meat pies and yummy chocolates.

Jeff and I went through Winnemucca, Elko, Wells and Pocatello where we visited the oh-so-delectable McDonald's. To be fair we did go to the Cocoa Bean in Rexburg for a cupcake, but Mill Hollow never had the right flavor of Fro-Yo so we missed out on that.

Byron and Scotty hob-nobbed with royalty and the British.

Jeff and I had dinner with the kids from home and lunch and dessert with Lisa Marie and family!! (we won on that one....)

Lisa Marie's little Meg after ice cream...too cute!!

Byron and Scotty visited and toured Soccer stadiums where Scotty's dreams of a career as the next Pele' or Beckham were fueled.

Jeff and I watched our beloved Giants go down in flames and dreams of a post-season doused.

Scotty got his picture taken a bazillion times.
Jeff's mom lost her camera and consequently did not take even one picture.

Scotty slept in fancy hotels on snuggly beds.
Jeff slept in a sleeping bag on Lauren's floor.

Byron and Scotty learned so much about English history!
Jeff and I learned about the potato harvest!

Scotty and Byron learned to understand the Queen's English and various cockney accents.
Jeff and I wondered when Idaho moved to the southern part of the US as we marveled at all the y'alls and southern talkin' in Idaho.

Scotty and Byron didn't see all they wanted to see which gives them something to look forward to someday on a return visit.

My return visit to Idaho will be complete with a new little yummy baby grandson.

I win.

A sweet little story

2009-09-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

Several years ago I read a story about a young girl with Down's Syndrome that was elected Homecoming queen at her high school in Murray, Utah. The story warmed my heart because of the generosity of spirit of the kids in that high school. In the world today with all the negativity about the youth, it's wonderful to hear something positive.

We have had such an experience at our high school this week. It's Homecoming at Liberty...and the kids got it right.

Here's the story:

(With her permission), Meet Katelyn.

She is a wonderful, very talented girl. But, she didn't always act wonderful. In fact, her first two years at Liberty she was a brat. A snotty, mouthy little brat and we butted heads constantly. Sometime in her Jr. year she had an epiphany. One day she came in to the office and sat down and apologized for her behavior. To tell the truth, I wasn't very nice, I was in a stinky mood and probably wasn't very gracious to her. I felt horrible after and sent her a note apologizing for my poopy attitude. Since then, we have become friends. She has become such an incredible young lady that is a little power house on our campus. She was voted as one of the Top 10 for our Homecoming this year, and I couldn't have been happier for her.

AND THEN...

This is "Mike" (not his real name as I do not have permission to use his name but I did ask him if I could write about him, he was thrilled...)

He is one of our special students on campus. He has Asperger's and a few other disabilities. He is a sweet boy that is so friendly to everyone on campus. When we have noon-time activities he dances and has so much fun, he tells all the girls how pretty they are. He's funny because he wears ties and bow ties to school for special occasions. Everyone loves Mike. He was voted as one of the Top 10 for Homecoming, and oh, he was thrilled!!!

The first thing after the Top Ten rally Katelyn ran to "Mike" and offered to be his Homecoming partner. One of the first obstacles was that Mike belongs to a church that doesn't believe in celebrations of a personal nature. The second was that his parents are Spanish-speaking. The third was transportation and last and most important, helping Mike know just what to do!! Miss Katelyn was NOT going to be deterred. She arranged to have a translator go to Mike's home and explain everything to his parents and get their permission. She offered to give him rides to and from practice. She helped him choose his clothes and put together their Homecoming skit using all Mike's favorite songs. She got together other kids at school to be back up dancers. When I asked Mike how things were going and if he was having fun he said, "Oh yes!!! Katelyn is helping me handle everything!" She even chose a modest dress out of respect for his beliefs! When most girls want to look sexy, she wanted him and his parents to feel comfortable. Bless her heart.

At the rally when they were introduced it was loud, loud, loud!! Everyone cheered louder for them than any of the others. Not to take away from the other kids, Mike is just loved at Liberty.

It came time to open the boxes of flowers, Mike needed help from one of the other guys. When he saw the red rose, he didn't know quite what to do...He won!!!!

Katelyn was thrilled, she didn't win Queen, but I honestly don't think she cared. Every member of the Administration was proud of her, every staff member was proud of her. Her motives were not selfish, she didn't take "Mike" under her wing for glory or attention but because she wanted HIM to have a great experience. She may not be Homecoming Queen but she had an experience that will last much much longer than a shiny crown. True compassion towards another is priceless.

But wait!!!! There's MORE to the story!

The young lady who DID win has Cerebral Palsy. It has affected her physically but she is an excellent student and has been class president and a leadership member. She was in a wheel chair until seventh grade and when I met her three years ago she walked with crutches. She has endured surgeries and physical therapy throughout her life that has enabled her to learn to walk. She is an amazing young lady who has overcome much adversity in her life. To see her walk in her special way across the football field to be crowned Queen and to see "Mike" walk over to be crowned King...words escape me. You should have heard the roar and clapping from the crowd.

Katelyn, I am proud of you and proud to be your friend.

Liberty High School...you got it right and I couldn't be prouder!!

Beautiful

2009-09-14T14:49:00.001-07:00

This makes my heart happy.

Picture by Jennifer Lucas/Idaho Falls

After THE FALL

2009-08-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

Remember when I told you about a little fall I had at work?

Three months later, numerous braces, trips to my physical tortureist, Dr. visits, ice-amundo, swelling, limping, whining and complaining...I'm going under the "knife" or probably a laser, and getting the problem fixed.

I tore my meniscus in two places, cracked my knee cap which healed incorrectly and may have damaged my ACL. I didn't know what a meniscus was until I hurt it~ who knew what a pesky little thing it was?

It's my first surgery ever. I'm a bit nervous. It's out-patient and I'll probably be home in 6 hours or so, but I'm still nervous.

I'm also excited!!

I will be able to bend my knee again!!!

I won't be miserable anymore!!!

I get two weeks off work!!!

I don't have to wake up at 5:15 for Seminary!

I get big time drugs which means I will get sleep!!

Be thinking good thoughts for me on Tuesday...7:00 am surgery time.

PS. if you are in my ward reading this....I don't need anything REALLY!!

50 is Nifty...Best Birthday Ever!!

2009-08-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a day. I hope my old ticker holds out.

I woke up this morning, my 50th birthday, and found pieces of paper all over my house with little sentiments on them...Jeffrey had called family and friends to ask them what they liked/loved about me!! He had 50 different things from people all over the house. What a sweet birthday surprise and I loved it!!!

You bet I am~~!

Validation....finally.

This is from one of my nieces, they all call me Aunt J. Now I'm old aunt J.

Then I went to Seminary to take doughnuts to my favorite bunch of 15 year olds. They are adorable. Absolutely adorable.

I went to work and on my desk were flowers, a cake, balloons and cards. I am loved by my office. I forgot to take a picture. oops. bad blogging. See....I'm getting forgetful already.

I was just working along when my office door opened....in marched a bunch of drummers and then percussionists and brass players. Liberty High School's Jazz band then performed a rousing version of Happy Birthday and God Save the Queen! It was hysterical.

Then my gorgeous, funny cousin Jeanette brought me lunch. Yummy.

For dessert my sweet friend Marty brought me WARM chocolate chip cookies, loaded and packed with chocolatey goodness!!!!

Mitchell called, Lauren called, Bro Mark called......

THEN... I go home.

THIS is what awaits me.....

Click on the picture to make it bigger for the full effect.

I laughed so hard I needed protection!

Absolutely, without a doubt...THE single funniest joke ever played on me.
This lovely garland on my garage door for the world to see.

I'd like to thank the little elves who provided me with Granny Panties so now I can truly fit the part. I have an appointment for my violet rinse and perm on Wednesday.
(Trisha? Kelli? Emma?.........) Jeff knows who and won't spill the beans.

What did I get this year?

An i-phone is coming to me soon. I hope I can figure out how to use it.

I got these from a friend whose love of Scotch Mallows rivals my own. Nice way to sabotage my dieting friend.....

Phone calls from Rachel, Gabi, Andrea, Karen and Diane!!!!
How blessed I am to have met so many amazing women blogging!!

Flowers and chocolate and industrial sized Diet Pepsi from lovely Erin (out visiting from DC).

Dinner out with my in-laws who are the two kindest, most generous people I have ever known. I am blessed to have them.

A call from my mother who lives in Africa and my siblings rounded out my day.
I am happy and tired. What a fabulous day. What more could I ask than to be surrounded by those I love and who love me.

Tomorrow...round two. Dinner with friends.

Cue the Fireworks....I'm 50

2009-08-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

Happy 50th Birthday to me!

It's my birthday.

I really didn't have anything to do with the day, I just showed up. Thank you to Judy and Dick, my parents, for making me and bringing me into the world. And for in their own way, giving me roots and wings.

To tell you the truth...I'm not real happy about this birthday. Oh I know...50 is the new 40... but I am really weirded out by the realization that my life is probably half over and that the next part of my life is all down hill...the body breaks down, the memory fails, the wrinkles sag and the hair turns gray.

BAH HUMBUG

SO...

My mom always said that if you're sad sing a song that you love or think of things that make you happy. My kids hate it when I sing.

50 things that make me happy...

1. My faith and the hope that comes with having faith.

2. My husband

3. My kids (most days)

4. My sense of humor

5. My son-in-law

6. The prospect of being a Grammibelle.

7. Memories

8. My siblings

8. Chocolate

10. The sun

11. Colors

12. My friends

13. Telephones

14. Sewing & Fabrics

15. Cooking

16. Reading

17. Cars (thank goodness I don't have to ride a horse)

18. Other peoples' talents

19. Shrimp

20. Flowers, especially Daisies, aren't they just a happy flower?

21. Anything Red, except ants and sunburns

22. Giving service

23. Teaching Seminary

24. Camping

25. Looking at the stars

26. TV Reruns

27. Pictures

28. Laughing (and through tears is even better)

29. My co-workers

30. A new pair of shoes

31. My kitty purring

32. Rachel giggling

33. A clean house

34. Diet Pepsi

35. Digging in the dirt

36. Warm summer nights

37. Cool summer mornings

38. Holidays

39. Traveling

40. Learning something new everyday

41. Music

42. Old Musicals

43. Making new friends

44. Sleeping

45. Hair Dye

46. Water

47. Listening

48. Those last few moments before falling asleep

49. Singing out loud

50. Blogging

I'm feeling better already...happy day to everyone!!

Eat a piece of chocolate to help me celebrate.

One...

2009-08-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

.......

Two...

2009-08-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

..........

Three....

2009-08-14T15:37:00.001-07:00

.............

One year ago

2009-08-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

A year ago today, I was going crazy.

It was the day before my only 'marriageable' daughters' wedding.
A wedding, the event that mothers start dreaming of the minute a daughter is born.
The event that I had planned for a lifetime. (at least in my dreams)

A year ago my wonderful sister Rose was here with me, propping me up.
A year ago my 'soul sister' Rachel was here, sharing the joy of being the "second mom."

A year ago I was sad that Lauren's beloved Grandpa and Grandma 'Matoes' weren't here with us.
A year ago I still couldn't decide what dress to wear.
A year ago I weighed 35 pounds more.
A year ago I learned that love doesn't need words.

A year ago I worried that I had forgotten something.
A year ago I worried because I had spent way too much. (worth it)
A year ago I was re-thinking pink boots for centerpieces. (so cute)

A year ago I was praying that it would cool down from the 104 degrees expected.
A year ago I was hoping that I had taught my young daughter everything she needed to know to be a good wife.

A year ago I was thrilled to have another son joining the family.
A year ago I was surrounded by all those I love so dearly.

A year ago I was thanking my Heavenly Father for answering my most heartfelt prayers.
A year ago I was running on adrenalin and Diet Pepsi.
A year ago I was worried that no one would show up...what would I do with all that food???

A year ago I was already exhausted.
A year ago I couldn't stop smiling.
A year ago, her dreams came true.

A year later...we're looking forward to more joy and more dreams to come true.

Did I ever mention it's a boy? Carter -?- Evans, due December 7th!!!

Summer Summary

2009-07-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

School starts tomorrow!

Really.

For kids in Brentwood, today was the "end" of our summer. I know, it kind of sucks...but we'll revisit that when we have two weeks off in October and again in March!

This summer was busy, busy, busy for us! Very fun, full of lots of people
we love, and seeing and learning new things, it was great.

Miche's Tavern in Charlottesville, VA., built in 1750. Beautiful setting and yummy colonial food.

Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.

We started off with a two week vacation to the East Coast for the Groseclose Family Reunion in Pipestem, W. Virginia. West Virginia IS truly heaven, just like the John Denver song.

Pipestem, W. VA. , the view from the hotel balcony.

Pipestem Lake

We spent 4 lazy, family filled days there and in Virginia. Byron's family settled in VA in the 1720's. There is a valley there in the southwest corner that is still home to many cousins and the
family homestead is still there.

The Groseclose homestead, built in 1750.

It is so picturesque and like Mayberry; loved it. Byron loved the food, good old Southern fare!!

The site of the original Groseclose mill, built in 1724, part of it still stands.

The Sharon Luthern Church, built in 1810. 80% of the people buried there are related!

From there we traveled to Pennsylvania. I was excited to have the opportunity to go Gettysburg and see the sites there. It was stunning and humbling. Oh, and because I'm me....I got a doozy case of pink eye.

Next on to Hershey, PA!! I have a well documented LOVE of all things chocolate, so this was totally fun for me. I am not much of a thrill ride kind of girl, but I like seeing my fam have fun. While we were there we saw some Amish kids going on water rides with all their Amish clothes on, it was pretty funny.

Much to my children's dismay, we went to Lancaster County to see the Amish country. They changed their minds when they tasted all the yummy food and saw how beautiful the countryside was. I embarrassed them by asking tons of questions. That's my job...to embarass them. By the way, loved the quilt shops!!!

Then....one of the highlights of my trip. We went to Yardley, PA and stayed with one of my most

favorite bloggers....Gabi!!

She is adorable and so charming. Loved her. She lives in the Garden of Eden, I'm convinced. It was so beautiful and we loved meeting her and seeing our old friends, Rick & Helena. Lauren left us to go home to Skyler while we were at Gabi's. While she was with us on vacation, Skyler was transferred from Portland to Milwaukee! 2200 miles and 34 hours driving, by himself. She was anxious to join him so we said goodbye early.

We spent a day in Philadelphia visiting the sites of the birth of America. We also had to have a "Cheesesteak-off" FYI: 2 votes for Pat's and 2 for Geno's.

.

Finally, on to Washington D.C.
where we stayed with our wonderful friends, Phil and Erin. Erin was my "go-to" babysitter when my kids were young and she and Phil stayed with our kids once while we went on a cruise. They are a fabulous young couple with two adorable kids (and one big dog). (Jeff offered to stay and help with the kids for the summer, anything to get out of the big hike. )

Phil and the kids, love this picture. The kiddies are really adorable, take my word for it!

(We love her so much, Jeffy's middle name is Aaron, and yes, it's after this Erin).

I love D.C. and have been there a few times. This time we accidentally stumbled upon the Pentagon Memorial, brand new and very touching.

Also, this time we went to the Holocaust museum, it was stunning. We were all very, very touched by the experiences of the victims. My kids didn't know that the handicapped were also killed; I think because of our Rachel - it became very personal for our boys. I was proud of the way they behaved and thought about the message of the museum.

When we arrived home I found out that my dad was coming about a week early!! Probably a good thing, I didn't have time to freak out and stress. I also didn't have time to get my carpets cleaned.

It was the hottest weekend of the year, literally 113 degrees. I thought my poor Dad (who is from Alaska, ) was going to melt. I was nervous but lived through it. My feelings are still mixed, but it truly was wonderful to see him and have him see my life and my children. I think he was proud and was happy to spend time with us. All in all, a good experience.

Then my sweet, wonderful friend Kim came with her family.

This was the part of my summer when I cut a chunk out of my finger. A huge chunk. Kim is so calm in a crisis!! That's one reason I love her. We love the Walus's and miss them and wish they hadn't moved!!

AND then.....ANDREA came!!

Woot-woot!! Love this friend that I have met through blogging. She is funny, gorgeous, outspoken, opinionated and so real. Love her. My boys thought she was absolutely wonderful and we hope she comes again next year when her kids are all gone. (Monterey Andrea??)

Next...lunch with my long lost brother Tom again. It feels so good to reconnect with my family.

Byron and I celebrated our 27 years of wedded adventure! He bought a car for our anniversary, a cute little Mazda. Whew. Not a mid-life crisis car.

Then Jeffrey went to Yosemite and Scotty went to Scout camp for the first time. A really good summer for them.

I spent hours by and in the pool working on my tan. I know it's not good for me, but the warm sun just feels great!!

And now school is starting and then Seminary starts on Thursday...can't wait for that!!!

The next big event in my summer?

My 50th birthday.

He did it!!

2009-07-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

Jeffrey, the reluctant hiker is home. He consented to an interview about his experience.

Mom: So Jeff? How was it?

Jeff: What an all encompassing question Mom. (yep, he really said that.)
It was painful....long...hot...mosquito filled... blister inducing...

Mom: So can we cut to the chase here? Was it miserable?

Jeff: Add dehydrating, it was dehydrating.

Mom: Jeff, did you want to go on the hike?

Jeff: Didn't you do a blog about this? No. I did not want to go. No. No. No.

Mom: What did you do to get ready for the hike?

Jeff: Well, I did go on three preliminary hikes. Other than that, I picked out food, whined, griped, complained.... (true that)

Mom: Jeff....of the food you picked out...how much did you eat?

Jeff: I ate all the fruit snacks and the beef jerky and raw top ramen noodles. I ate about half of three freeze dried meals. And a few rice krispie treats.

Mom: How many pounds of food did you bring back?

Jeff: About a hundred pounds. (that was one heavy pack)

Mom: Did you use your soap?

Jeff: Once on my feet. (good to know)
Oh Mom!! I caught three fish. First try I caught a trout! That was cool.

Mom: How many miles did you hike each day?

Jeff: The first day we hiked six, they told us five and it was six.
Day two we didn't hike, we got used to the altitude.
Wednesday we were supposed to hike ten, but we went eleven. The worst day of my entire life.
Thursday we hiked nine miles Buena Vista Lake. It was hard.
Friday there were two passes, one was 7 miles, one was 8. Of course we took the eight mile one.
Saturday we hiked 11 miles and climbed Half Dome.

Mom: How many mosquito bites?

Jeff: About 800. Actually, I think 60.

Mom: Of the bazillion dollars I spent...what was my best purchase?

Jeff: My buff. I see why they use them on Survivor.

Mom: Did you ever use your buff as a shirt?

Jeff: (laughing) no. But it did help keep mosquitoes off my neck.

Mom: Did you go swimming to get clean?

Jeff: Oh yeah. One time in a glacier lake. They neglected to tell us there was still ice floating in
the lake.

Mom: What was the best part of the hike?

Jeff: There was a couple actually. One was Saturday when we walked a mile through a waterfall mist and a cave. It was wet, cold and amazing. And then....seeing Bro. Toland's car to take us home. It was like an angel, coming to rescue us. To quote Scott M.: "it was painfully beautiful". The hike was hard, really, really hard.

Mom: What was the scariest part of the hike?

(to get up Half Dome, you have to hold onto cables and pull yourself up a sheer cliff. Photos from Scott Bledsoe)

Jeff: Going down the cables on Half Dome. And being completely out of water one day, it was miserable.

Mom: What was your feeling when you reached the top of Half Dome?

Jeff: I was happy and I was really proud of myself. I was dead tired but happy that I made it up there. And I knew we were almost done. It was hard to go up but really scary to go down.

(our boys going up the cliff)

(Jeff and our friend Marja who joined the guys with some others from our ward.)

Mom: Was it worth it?

Jeff: It's something that is so cool...I mastered Half Dome. I'm happy that I did it...but I'll never do it again.

Mom: Would you be like me and make your boys go on this hike?

Jeff: Well, it depends on how mean I want to be. Yeah...I'd make them go.

Score one for Mom.

For the record, on the way home they went out to eat. Jeff had chicken nuggets.

For those not from California...Half Dome (elevation 8,842 ft.) is in Yosemite National Park and was photographed extensively by Ansel Adams. It is a beautiful rugged park full of granite cliffs, wild animals, creeks and lakes. Half Dome is a piece of Granite rock that at some point probably had a glacier sheer it in half thus making its distinctive shape. The hike around the park is grueling yet amazingly beautiful.

Taking a Hike

2009-07-10T08:30:00.000-07:00

(photo credit to Andrea)

This is my 15 year old son Jeff.

He is about to undertake the most difficult thing he has ever attempted.

Monday morning, 6 am, his Scout troop leaves to go on a 50 mile hike through Yosemite.

We are making him go. We are forcing him to go. We are giving him no free agency or options.

He is going.

He can go happy...

He can go sad...

He is going.

Poor, poor Jeff is convinced that we are trying to kill him.

He would rather have a root canal with no anesthesia than go on this hike.

He is going to miss the TV, his beloved Giants, chicken nuggets, sleeping in, bossing Scotty around, texting. It's going to be a grim existence for poor, poor Jeff.

He has offered to tell me I'm beautiful 50 times a day, if I don't make him go.

He has offered to read 3 hours a day, if I don't make him go.

He has offered to be an au pair for Erin & Phil for the summer if I don't make him go.

He has offered to kiss my feet and rub my back every day, if I don't make him go. (Tempting)

He has offered to eat no nuggets for a week, if I don't make him go. (this is the supreme sacrifice)

If he offered to guarantee me straight A's in school with no missing homework for the next three years we might have a deal. But he didn't think of it and now it's too late.

Our logic is that once he does this he will know that he is capable of doing anything. Lugging a 25lb. pack for six days over hills and trails is going to be difficult, no doubt about it. But what a character building experience for him. The memories he will have will be priceless. That feeling you get when you accomplish something REALLY hard will be priceless.

So we're packing him up today. Got the tent, the sleeping bag, the hiking boots, the freeze dried food (no nuggets though), rope, tp, a compass, a camel back and one nervous, unhappy boy.

I think he'll live.

We'll miss him if he doesn't.

The feeling he'll have when he is standing on top of Halfdome will make it all worth it.

And the trip to McDonald's when he gets home.

Guess who's coming to dinner?

2009-06-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

A warning: I wrote this and just put my feelings out there. A real posterity post.

You know how the Chinese have Year of the Dog or Year of the Boar? Well, this is my Year of the Family. I have long lost relatives that I had pretty much written off coming out of the woodwork. I reconnected with my much younger sister Amy, my charming brother Tom and my totally wacked cousin Todd. (Who I hope never reads my blog, but with my luck....)

So Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

My Father.

The only baby picture of me in existence. My father has the short sleeved shirt on. My mother is taking the picture.

After 19 years of no contact, zero, zip, nada....I got an email saying he was hitching up his RV to his truck and coming to visit his kids in the lower 48. I don't know what to think! He is 72, is this his farewell tour? What possessed him? Why now after all these years? AND he sounds excited to see us!!!

I was thinking of doing the ABC's of my emotions over this:
A--Apprehensive,
B--Boggled,
C--Conflicted,
D--Dumbfounded,
E--Excited?
F--Flumoxed...

You get the idea.

I remember as a little girl absolutely adoring and idolizing him. He has a quick laugh and a warm smile and he could sing, oh my can he sing! I remember that I loved being hugged by him and having him scratch my face with his whiskers. He was so handsome... And then he was gone.

I lived with him for a summer when I turned 9, and then I was sent to Alaska to live with other relatives and I was too young to be told why and probably wouldn't have understood anyway.

Then, when I graduated from high school my foster parents sent me on a summer trip up to Alaska to see him. I was again infatuated with my Dad. But he somehow wasn't fascinated with me. At that time I was old enough to wonder why he didn't want me...why didn't he love me?

The morning of my wedding in the Oakland Temple he showed up! Absolutely unannounced. Invited yes, but with no dreams or thoughts of him showing up...but he did! That was a day of conflicting emotions also.

Then nothing until one summer when Lauren was turning two and he flew his plane down to see us. Later that fall we went to Seattle and met him there and spent time with my Grandfather and my father. Two times in a year! And then, nothing.

For 19 years I have sent Christmas cards, announcements, pictures etc...so has my brother and sister in law, and nothing. My brother called him before he went to Iraq thinking this would be a turning point. Nope.

I don't want to paint a picture of him being a bad person, he's not. At least I don't think he is, he just doesn't know how to be emotionally involved. His mother died when he was six and he was raised by a rather cold and stiff step-mother. I don't think nurturing is in his emotional make-up. (unlike me who has nuturing instincts on overdrive...) Maybe age has mellowed him?

All these thoughts are jumbled up in my mind and my heart, (which I am wrapping up tightly so it won't break again) . Funny thing is that again I find myself wishing I was thinner, more beautiful, more talented, more everything. Why is that?

One thing about me is that I am who I am. I am no different on this blog than I am in real life. I have bad luck, I laugh and blog about it. My kids do cute things, funny things, things that make me proud, I blog about it. I make goals, I break goals, I blog about it. And I feel pretty okay with myself, I like me. (I'd like me more if I were smaller...but I am okay with Jeni) But all of a sudden, today, I wish I were more wonderful. Today I wish I was a person that my parents could love, both of them who are living. Today I am thankful for my foster parents (who have both passed on ) who taught me to love, to forgive and to find the good in everyone.

My father is coming to visit. Today I am a wreck. But I think I'll loosen the bindings on my hearts' protection. Seriously, I can't wait to hear him laugh and to meet my boys and see that despite everything, I'm okay.

Time out for a little Vacay.........

2009-06-09T21:35:00.001-07:00

I'm taking a little blog break to go spend time with my family. We're heading back east to West Virginia for a family reunion (thank you Grandpa!!), to Virginia, to Pennsylvania to meet Gabi and see our old friends the Lewis's. Then on to Washington D.C. to see my (second) favorite young mom, Erin (City Mama). It's going to be fun.
Don't forget me while I'm gone!!!

Memories for a Mommy

2009-06-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I am excited about the grandbaby that will join our family in six short months. When I think about it, I am filled with curiosity, joy and plans. I wonder how my mom sustained that same excitement through 24 grandchildren?!? As much as I love my kids, I think I'm just a bit more excited for THIS baby.

Lauren, 7, very focused on creating something wonderful

One of the things that I am excited about is that my little girl gets to know the simple joys of motherhood. Along with the trials and pains that children bring, there are those sweet moments that you tuck away and hold close so no one can take them from you. I have some memories tucked away; some in my heart, some tucked in my drawer. Memories of little things like sitting Lauren on the counter everyday to curl her hair. Memories of her one and only dance recital. Winning her first ribbon in swimming. Memories of her sitting and reading to her "babies", watching her be silly at camp, going on dates, leaving her behind at college, watching her kneel across an altar in the temple. And now, she will get memories of her own of her little one.
She will get to snuggle, get wet little kisses, soothe owies, cheer at games, dry tears,
get sweet little unexpected notes.

She's going to love being a mommy, it's all she's ever wanted.

I love you too Shorty.

The best kids in the world

2009-06-02T22:17:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to pay tribute and to show the blogiverse the most wonderful kids in the world.
(Well, second only to my own kids....)

It has been such a blessing and a thrill to spend my mornings this school year with them as we have learned the New Testament together. Not everyday was perfect; I wasn't always on my game. Some days they were squirmy and squirrely, others I was very emotional and even a little grumpy a time or two. But all in all, it has been so rewarding and I wouldn't change a minute. I love them with my whole heart, every one of them. (okay, some of them tried our patience, but we still loved them...)

My team teacher Alisa, she's amazing and I love her!

We took a little survey....and made a memory book for them. My sweet friend Lisa Marie made them a little necklace with "Remember" on it. They loved them, thank you Lisa Marie!!!

The girls in my class, aren't they adorable?

They also loved:

The story of the adulterous woman
The Garden of Gethsemene
Christ walking on the water
The Nativity
The Book of Revelation
Passover, Purim & Hanukkah
Learning to be Childlike, not Childish
The Prodigal Son (oh the tears of the teacher on this lesson...)
Peter and Paul
Mary, the mother of Christ
Doughnuts
Cinnamon Rolls
Muffin Mondays
Scavenger Hunts
Human Tic Tac Toe
Flying Candy
Our Savior, Jesus Christ

Brentwood Seminary Freshman Class, 2009

McKenzie, Sadie, Lauren, Chris, Max, Alisa
Me, Abbey, Jordyn, Jeremiah, Hayley, Zach, Kimberly, Travis
Caden, Tim, Jeff, Brandon, Marcus, Tyler, Alex and Ryan
Missing: Caleb, Kaylee & Katelyn

It's been wonderful.

Stunned and Baffled

2009-05-26T15:37:00.000-07:00

It's my version of 'shock and awe'

It's no secret that California is one of the top 5 Liberal states in the US. We rank behind Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts and Vermont in our Liberalism. Our court system also leans to the left.

WAY left.

Last fall we had the big Prop 8 vote, you remember....the marriage between a man and a woman thing....

54% percent of voting Californians voted "Yes" on '8', voting to keep the definition of Marriage in California as a 'union between a man and a woman'. Personally, I believe in this. I also believe that there should be some form of a legal, binding contract for other committed relationships between those of the same sex. I believe that everyone's right to love and buy property, form a partnership etc. should be protected.

But that being said, Marriage is ordained of God and needs to be patterned after God's way, ie. male and female.

Immediately, the Supreme Court was petitioned to throw away the will of California voters. It must be said that TWICE this proposition has appeared on the ballot, and twice it has been voted for in the affirmative. Obviously this was not some sort of fluke vote.

An appeal was filed within 48 hours. Then, both sides were heard, (rather quickly), briefs read, and deliberation started.

Today the decision of California's Liberal Supreme Court was made known.....................

They upheld the voters will. Our mega-liberal Judges (who never miss a chance to be liberal)

UPHELD Proposition 8, the proposition stands as written.

The media is portraying this as a 'split decision', which I guess a 6-1 majority technically is. All I know is that I am stunned, didn't see that coming. (Watch the coverage here). There are protests all over California. I'm sure there will be a backlash against the 'Mormons' again. There were some protesters at the temples today and marching in the streets.

As long as it's peaceful, go for it.

But... immediately an appeal was filed and papers for the next election filed.

At issue?

A vote on whether California voters should be allowed to change the state Constitution by voting.

HUH?

HELP WANTED

2009-05-19T10:48:00.001-07:00

HELP!!!!

I have been asked to teach a class tomorrow night at church on object lessons that teach a gospel principle. I have many of my own and I have been on Mormonshare.com to get other ideas

BUT...

when I really need some great input I come to the smartest, most creative women I know...

YOU!

Does anyone out there have a favorite object lesson you have used to teach a gospel themed principle?

I am going to use my favorite one right at the beginning of my lesson. It can be used for many things but my focus will be on being prepared.

First I will bring a beautifully decorated cake and tell them that it is a sweet experience to be asked to teach this class and I wanted to share the blessing with them. I will look around for a knife, spatula, plates and forks. I won't find any in my bag. "Oh dang...I forgot them! I was rushing around to get things together, I had it all sitting on the counter and totally forgot to bring it. Oh well...." Then I will just grab a big ole chunk out of the cake and offer it to someone.

The cake is still good, it's just not quite as appetizing when it isn't "served correctly". Same with other preparations in our lives, lessons we are asked to teach and forget about and prepare in Sacrament meeting. Might be able to pull it off, but how much better could it be if we had taken the time to present it to the class better? This can be used for TONS of gospel applications.

Do YOU have a favorite you can share with me?

Oh, come on...I KNOW you do!!!

Misery

2009-05-18T13:29:00.000-07:00

The temperatures this weekend.

We spent our afternoons on the soccer field,

Misery loves company.

Got a wild hair...

2009-05-13T20:31:00.000-07:00

Is it part of the womanhood code that the minute you get a new hair cut or color you have to go show a friend for validation that it looks okay?

When my bloggy friend Christie got a haircut she hated, we were there for her. Encouraging her, denouncing her horrid, misguided hairdresser and generally being THERE for her.

Today I got a new do. I went dark and with chunky highlights. My new hairdresser (Stacy the miracle worker moved...dang her) wanted to sit and chat about my hair for 30 minutes. I honestly didn't know there was SO much to talk about. I told her I was game for anything that didn't require spiking or hot rollers or a perm. I wanted it simple.

SO she spun me around so I couldn't see, she colored, she cut, she used the blow dryer.

2 1/2" shorter, side swept no bang look and TUCKED!!!

Then...my world was put into a spin.

Totally changed.

I thought getting a new, well fitting bra was life altering.

But it was nothing compared to what Kristine, my new best friend told me.

How could I live almost, (only 96 short days....) 50 years and NEVER know this?

Here's how it went down...:

"Okay! All done! I'm going to wheel you around (like on What not to Wear) and you'll see the new you!"

"OH! I love the color, it's awesome. And you tucked my hair, I LOVE TUCKING!! It's so cute!"

"Well, the good thing is that this cut is going to look just as good on the SECOND or THIRD day, it's a great dirty hair haircut..."

WHAT?!?!?!?!?

A great dirty hair haircut? Why in the world would I want THAT?

"Wh-wha-what?"

She looks horrified........"do you....wash your hair EVERY day?!?!"

"Well, of course I do, don't you?"

So we spent another 20 minutes discussing how NOT washing your hair is what EVERY woman does (I wonder what that makes me?), how your color lasts longer, your hair is healthier etc...

I feel like a total failure as a woman, a citizen of the global world.

A total environmental criminal as I think of all the water I have wasted and soapy shampoo I have let run to the sea.

A total financial failure as I think of the money I have wasted buying twice as much shampoo and product as I needed to.

But, more importantly,

a total failure as a mother as I have trained and the set the example of clean hair to my children, when obviously second day hair is truly the ideal.

How did I NOT KNOW?

My question, do you wash your hair every day? How long do you go if not?

Do you think less of me?

But isn't the color awesome?

And if you go to Christie's blog and look at her much hated haircut, mine looks a lot like it. One woman's junk is another woman's treasure.

Pardon me, your slip is showing

2009-05-11T20:51:00.001-07:00

This is the chair in my office. I spend more time here than any other place in my life. I wish I spent more time sleeping than in this chair, but I don't. I am chained to it. It looks like a nice, ordinary, average office chair doesn't it? But it's not. It's evil.

This is the plastic mat that my chair sits on. Notice the damaged part? It's plastic missing, not a huge piece, but just enough.

So, last Thursday I was sitting in my chair, ticked off because when they called the kid in to ask him about the phone (see below) he denied having it and "you can't call him a liar...." I digress.

ANYWAY, I was sitting in my chair talking to Officer Bell, the cute, cute, cute Journalism teacher and my office mate, Marty. There were two students standing at my counter. I was going to back up in my chair to go help the kids and my wheel got stuck in the little hole. So I rocked a little to loosen it and ....

whooomp!!!

There I went!

The chair flew out from under me, I fell forward, my head hitting my desk, skinning my ankle and then the chair came down and hit me on the back of the head. I was absolutely dazed and found myself of the floor with my leg at an ungodly angle and a chair on top of me.

After the initial dead silence where you just know they were thinking "do I laugh? What can I do NOW?" Matt comes over, "Jeni are you okay? What do you need?" All I could think of is to get me a blanket so I can throw it over myself and be invisible. (It works for Michael Jackson's kids...)

Everyone else in the office comes running...

and there I am,

with a chair on top of me,

in a dress,

sprawled on the floor.

I'm not one with a lot of dignity, but whatever I had was now gone.

They all helped me up and wouldn't you know it? I couldn't walk. I don't think there is a klutzy-er person on earth. (Proof and more Proof.) The damage? Torn hamstring muscle and another black brace peeking out from below.

So, let me repeat...

"How did you hurt yourself Jenibelle?"

"I fell out of a chair."

"oh. nice."

The rules change when it's your kid

2009-05-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

i-Phone

Against my better judgement and because the other parent was doing the buying....

my middle son got one of these for Christmas.

He was told that he couldn't bring it to school. Period. BUT...like all good (ha) parents, we buckled and said that he could as long as he brought it in to my office before PE.

Because everyone knows that PE is the hotbed of theft, correct?

You know where this is going already right?

So, I have been out of my office in testing HELL for the past two weeks. Before I moved campus locations, I made sure that everyone left in the office would be available to keep his phone in their desks during 4th period. He knew this.

Yesterday, he decided that he didn't have time to bring it to the office. He was talking to Lauren on the phone and took it into PE, in plain sight. He tucked it into his backpack, got dressed and took the pack out to the gym like they need to do (because the lockers are too small....).

After class he reached in to get his phone and BINGO! It was gone.

He absolutely freaked and went to his teacher.

At some point two other students went to the teacher also and told them that so and so took the phone and that they saw him with it.

I get a call in testing hell, "I got two names for you about who might have stolen Jeff's phone..."

"WHAT?! What do you mean Jeff's stolen phone? WHAT!??!" (For what I really sounded like think the Mom who just got told her son said the 'F---' word on Christmas Story and you get the picture)

So the saga of phone recovery begins....

At our school if you lose a phone, oh well. You bring it at your own risk.

BUT...if you are beloved employee, like moi, the rules change.

Luckily for me, I work with the Police department every day. I had the names of witnesses, we called two of them in, one lied and said he knew nothing about it. The other one gave up the name of the thief (who is conveniently absent today for the first time all year...) and that the first student actually was holding the phone for the thief.

Officer Bell, my hero, called the first kid in and read him his rights. It was awesome. He then proceeded to tell him that he had been identified as having the phone in his possession, that the parents of the owner of the phone were absolutely going to file and press charges against him as an accessory. It would be a FELONY on his record. This, officer Bell said, was punishable by 10-15 days at the Boys Ranch and 30 days of ankle monitoring. Was there anything he wanted to say? (it was totally beyond awesome..........).

I wanted to fly over the counter and totally smack the kid for lying to me earlier. That's against the law, dang it.

We know who stole the phone. Officer Bell is pretty certain that we will get it back somehow.

We also know who will not be seeing his soon-to-be-returned phone for a while. It will sit quietly turned off, unused, for quite awhile.

Mother does know best.

Family Resemblance

2009-04-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

This is my grandchild.

This is my Grandchild's mother, 21 years ago

The resemblance is uncanny isn't it?

Lauren saw the baby bean today,

she saw the heart beating,

she saw a little arm waving at her,

she gave blood,

she fainted,

she's okay,

Baby is okay,

she's happy,

we're happy.

It's real!

Is there anything more wonderful than new life?

Blog, Interrupted.

2009-04-22T22:17:00.001-07:00

This Blog has been temporarily disrupted, pre-empted, interrupted and altogether forgotten by its author.

Blame STAR Testing for which I am the go-to-girl at Liberty (1573 kids x 4 tests each = a nightmare for me.) Or, I can blame soccer and my brainless decision to be the team manager. Or, I could blame Seminary which I continue to want to give my best effort despite the two above issues. Or I could blame Scouting and the two separate hikes/sleep outs this weekend that I need to get my boys ready for. (I know Andrea, scouting is supposed to make them capable of getting ready themselves. Get real) Or, I could blame sunstroke, it was 98 degrees today, (and of course I was at soccer, outside). So, I am taking a few days off during my 'crunch' time. Don't forget me while I'm gone.

PS. Thank you so much for the advice for Lolo, she said thanks!!!

Two items of business

2009-04-16T22:25:00.000-07:00

First of all I need help from all the young moms' out there in Blogland. My little momma-to-be has suddenly developed morning sickness, actually, all day long sickness. It's been a looooooooong time for Granniebelle-to-be, (and, keep my secret....I threw up once, yes one time in five pregnancies. I know, you want to slap me).So, I really am not a whole lot of help with this one. What is your best remedy for getting through the day? Please share.

You know this look? The one that says "ugh...I feel like poo-poo and you're going to have to scrape me off this couch."? Can you help?

Second, are you sitting down?
No, I'm not pregnant too. I know that's the first thing that entered your mind Khandrea.....

But it's equally as miraculous, honest.

I said "no" today.
Really.
Someone asked me to be in charge of something, and I said 'no'.
First time for everything.....
And you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Feels good, liberating.
I think the first time is the hardest. I'll let you know for sure.

Just about ready to get that "sucker" tattoo off my forehead.

The week (or 10 days) in review

2009-04-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

See if you can make to the end. I guarantee a chuckle if you do.

Review item #1:

Scotty plays goalie in his first competition level game. They lost 6-2. He actually was only goalie the first half. It was torture! I hate it when my kid plays goalie.

Review item #2: I agreed to be the team manager for the above team, The Quakes. I figured it would be nice to help out. 24 hours and 36 e-mails later, can I quote my friend Paige? "It seemed like a good idea at the time...." oy vey, what a nightmare this is going to be.

Review item #3:
We went to Babies R Us to dream and plan. I think I might just die of excitement waiting for baby Evans. Names of the week are Carter or Aiden, Zoe or Macie. Yes, I do have MY choice, but the parents don't care what my choice is.

Review item #4: I Worked all week. Fascinating, I know.

Review item #5:
Friday we went to San Francisco, it was a glorious day, absolutely perfect weather. We walked around Union Square and people watched. I went to Anthropologie for the first time because our nephew's girlfriend is the manager there. Cute store, cute clothes, cute that my husband said it was too expensive to buy a $68 t-shirt. Then we drove down to Fisherman's Wharf and ate at Bubba Gumps. The news here is that I didn't eat anything fried. And why yes, I do feel deprived.

Rachel, the next few items are also for you and Rob...

Review item #6:

Byron and I had the privilege of attending this couple's temple wedding. Geoy (pronounced Joey) and his sweet bride Cindy have known each other since they were 14 when they met at a church dance. Cindy asked Geoy to her Jr. Prom a couple of years later but no romance ever developed. Geoy had a few "lost years" and then came around, went on a mission to Guatemala. Cindy got a college degree and served a mission in Utah. The night she came home he saw her at the church. The rest is history. Geoy is very special to our family, he spent many many hours with us as a teenager and actually lived with us for a few months. They are so happy and we couldn't be happier for them.

Review item #7:

This is Geoy's brother Kurtis, he got engaged the night before his brothers' wedding. And I tell you, I am thrilled! Kurtis was Mitch's best friend in school and has spent a bazillion hours in our home. He is a marvelous young man. The girl he is marrying, Jessika, was in my seminary class for four years, my TA at school, my friend still even though she is away at school. I love these two!! I couldn't have picked a better match myself. I'm ECSTATIC!

Review item #8:
Byron was in the Young Men's program at our church for 7 years. He had the privilege of working with the wildest, most energetic boys this side of the Mississippi, no one envied him. But we LOVED these boys. We had a snack cupboard for them and they knew they could just come in any time of the day or night and would be welcome. They had tooth brushes and swim suits and shirts at our house, they were our family. Some came back to visit for Geoy's wedding, Byron was practically floating he was so happy to see them! So was I. (we missed you Bobby!)

Review item # 9:

Easter. I forgot my camera. Typical. I'm such a good mom., thankfully my sil took some pictures of my kids. Anyway, we now have about 700 pounds of candy. The Easter bunny just kept buying more because she obviously forgot about what she had bought previously. Just what I need, the temptation of 300 pounds of Cadbury eggs and malted eggs, then 400 more of Snickers eggs, Milky Ways, you name it, we got it, even those icky Peeps.

Review item #10:

The newlyweds left today for their summer job in Portland. One question though...why is it that when they are teenagers in your home they are slobs....they marry, get their own home and become neat freaks....then they come home to visit and revert back? It was like our house exploded! It was so fun to have them here with us and it is so quiet now. I miss them already.

And in conclusion....

Review item #11:

This is the pool table we inherited. We love it, and it has provided hundreds of hours of fun and togetherness at our house. HOWEVER, see that pool cue?

Scotty was playing pool with Skyler. He was holding the pool cue and bouncing up and down, much like Tigger. All of a sudden there is a blood curdling scream from Scottigger. What happened you ask?

Well... Scotty in his bouncy, bouncy moment stuck the pool cue into his eye under the eyelid.
Serious.

He was screaming, Jeff was screaming: "I told you not to bounce with that cue!" (because stating the obvious always helps). Skyler is doing a little freaking out of his own, Mitch (who never gets involved in the excitement) runs down screaming that "Mom! You better come here...his EYE is bleeding!" Lauren is yelling, Jeff is yelling "that blue chalk causes cancer!! (Thanks for adding cancer hysteria to the moment Jeff.) Mitch is yelling, Skyler is trying not to laugh at the commotion that is our family, Scotty is screaming and crying....
I tell you, I expected Scotty's eyeball to be laying on the carpet they way they were all carrying on.

The result of all this noise and emotion?
Scotty did indeed accidentally jam the pool cue into his eye and broke some capillaries. It was bleeding, it swelled up and wouldn't open. Ice and some Mommy loving helped everything. His eye is looking much better now.

Never a dull moment around here.

Happy Pesach!

2009-04-08T20:39:00.000-07:00

Warning: Pensive and educational post ahead. Dedicated with much admiration to my friend Mark and his mother, Fran.

The Passover Seder Plate

Tonight is the first night of the Jewish holiday Passover, or Pesach.
I did a post about Passover Seminary Style last fall, you can read it here.

It is always interesting to me that the Jewish holiday Passover which celebrates the destroying angel of God 'passing' over the homes of the obedient children of Israel and delivering them from bondage, is always at the same time as the Christian world celebrates Easter. For me, Easter is obviously about the single greatest act of love ever, the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. But because of this great act of love, we can be 'passed over' by the destroying angels of the adversary and also be delivered from the bondage of sin. I am sure that I am not the first to have this personal revelation that the Christian and the Jewish world are not that far apart.

Passover is rich in 3,000 year old tradition. In fact, in the book of Exodus it is noted that the Jews are commanded to remember these events for all time. It is the holiday where family and friends gather around the seder table to celebrate. Pesach celebrates not only their freedom from Pharoah and slavery to him, but it also celebrates the privilege of worshiping freely and having spiritual freedom, which is something we all can appreciate and celebrate.

The Festival of Pesach highlights the observance of the Seder, a unique ceremony performed on the first two evenings of Passover. At the Seder meal, people eat different special foods, and tell the story of departure from Egypt, sing songs and praises, and say special prayers. Children as well as adults participate and it is truly a 'family' time, a time of remembrance, of thanks, of happiness.

One of the most significant observances related to Passover is the removal of chametz (leaven) from the homes of the Jews. This signifies the fact that the Jews leaving Egypt were in a hurry, and did not have time to let their bread rise. Also a symbolic way of removing the "puffiness" (arrogance, pride) from our souls. Most all Jews, observant or not, participate in the removal of leavening from their homes.

Today is the day of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Tomorrow night, the second night of Passover, is the night that Christ would have celebrated the Passover Supper with his beloved apostles. I am awestruck by the overlap between the two cultures. Tomorrow night, Jews all over the world will be celebrating the same thing Jesus did over 2,000 years ago on the same night. I wish my Jewish friends knew what I know to be true.

Have a wonderful Easter (and Passover)

Shalom

How I found out

2009-04-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

The video is dark and hard to see, but I hope you get the message being delivered!

Just call me Grannibelle! (thank you Paige!)

Our family addition is scheduled to make his/her arrival on December 8th.
Proud parents are Skyler & Lauren.

Am I excited?

Is our whole family excited?

Over the moon.

Could life get any better?

Names of the week: Aiden or Macie

PS. No I have not started a quilt, yet.
Yes, I did go buy something baby for them. A grandma's gotta spend!!

A family reunion

2009-04-02T10:23:00.000-07:00

I think my parents divorced when I was three. I have no memories at all of them ever together. I do have some faint memories of my Father, him in his Air Force uniform, he sitting at the piano and singing, his train set in the attic of our home, him putting together a banana seat sting ray bike for me when I was eight and had gone to visit him. But together, the two of them, nothing.

After they divorced my mother remarried fairly quickly and we moved to California. My father remarried also and eventually moved with his four new children to Alaska. I went to visit him once for a few months when I was almost nine, at that time he had two little boys, Mike and Tom who were two and one years old. I remember loving my Dad and thinking he was so handsome and my goodness, could he sing!

Life happened and I lived all over with different relatives, in different foster homes etc… and I had no contact at all with him. I don’t really know why, but my older brother Mark and I didn’t see him. But through out all the moves and changes in my life, I kept his last name and for some strange reason always felt connected to my father’s side of the family.

When I was 18 and had just graduated from high school my ‘new’ parents gave me a trip to Alaska and I went for six weeks. At that time my siblings were 12, 11, 8 and my little sister was 3 and adorable! It was fun and I had high hopes of being part of ‘their’ family. Didn’t quite work out as my Dad and his wife separated and I never saw my siblings again as they lived with their mother. My Dad doesn't seem very emotionally attached to his kids to say the least and I wasn't quite sure what to do.

At my wedding reception, I think this is cute, he gave us $$$ for our Honeymoon.

Since I was 18 I have seen him four times, one being my wedding day when he surprised me and flew down and showed up at the temple! I was thrilled and horrified at the same time!! My mother was there, my wonderful foster parents who paid for the whole thing were there and now here was my father. It was bizarre and wonderful at the same time.

Grandpa came to visit once, Kayla, Lauren, Abbie, Mitch and Rachel. He looks happy!

My little sister Amy, who was 15 at the time.

Fast forward……..during Christmas break this year Lauren made a Facebook for me. One of the first things I did was put in my long lost siblings’ names, up popped two of my brothers and my sister. I ‘friend requested’ them and within hours we were “friends”. My sister and I have talked and sort of reconnected. She’s 15 years younger and lives in Minnesota with her husband and three kids. I hope to visit her sometime. My brother Mike lives in Portland and we hope to visit him this summer. Tom, my other brother lives in Seattle. We have messaged each other and yesterday he had business in the Bay Area and I invited him to dinner and HE CAME!! 32 years since we last saw each other!

I was a little nervous wreck for 24 hours. I wished I was thinner, more beautiful, more talented. I wish I had cleaned my carpets, painted my living room, had new cabinets and counters. I prayed that my boys would be good and that I wouldn’t embarrass myself with my lack of an edit button. (which I am sure I did) I hoped that he wouldn’t be allergic to my cat, that dinner would be awesome and that he would like me.

It was absolutely one of the coolest, most wonderful experiences of my life.

My brother Tom (who thought I was 46, bless him...)

We are alike in many ways, not looks, but likes, interests, views etc…there really is something to genetics! We reminisced and shared memories, we discussed our dysfunctional father, asked questions about each other, we laughed, we teased, my kids LOVED him and it was so natural.

My heart is so full of joy because of the experience. I feel like I am floating. As wonderful as my other siblings are and I do love them, I have always, always missed these four kids. I have wondered about them, prayed for them, wished that I knew them, and now, I got to ‘meet’ one of them, and it was spectacular. I hope he becomes a regular visitor as he travels a lot with his profession and is in the Bay Area a few times a year.

I feel like a princess and I had a dream come true.

Week in Review--Vacay Edition

2009-03-29T13:45:00.000-07:00

Spring!!
Blossoms!!
No Work!!
Vacation!!
Sneezing & Allergies!!
Misery!!

I was SO looking forward to our spring break. Then the Thursday before I started in on a migraine. That's always fun. Three days later the headache was gone but I was left with the chest infection from hell. BUT, because I am a total Studette, I went on vacation with the fam. Coughing, hacking and wheezing all the way to SoCal, all the while thinking, "what was I thinking?"

Byron and I lived in Los Angeles for four years while he attended Dental School. As bizarre as it sounds, we love it there. Our kids love it there and when ever we have a few days, that's where they want to go. Mr. Thrify and Frugal 'Pricelined ' hotels and got us in to the Hilton Anaheim, 12th floor overlooking the pool and Disneyland for $50/night. It was lovely watching the fireworks from the comfort of my bed.

So we went to Disneyland. Actually they walked down at 9:00 am, I took the trolley at noon, rode three rides, didn't eat my lunch and was back safely in the hotel, half dead, by 5:00. I was
whole lot of fun.

Paige, this is how you do Disneyland. Take your husband

And his bank account, don't take extra kids and then leave them while you go back to the hotel to read and sleep.
Don't let the smile fool you, I was on drugs.

We took the boys to where we lived in South Central LA. They were pretty horrified by the neighborhood. It was rough but there were about 7 LDS Dental school families all living in these old duplexes. Our neighbors watched out for us and when ever there was police activity they would protect us "white kids". We lived above a three car garage in an old in-law setup. It was old, old, old and really cool.
Pink tile in the bathroom, a fake fireplace and a kitchen with about 10 layers of wallpaper and an old gas stove you had to light with a match.
My inlaws put in the metal door and it's still there, 25 years later. Once they were visiting and I took my mother in law to the laundromat with me and baby Rachel. She came back to our apartment..."Clark!! We're going to Sears! We're buying the kids a washer and dryer!" Score. Love it when unintentional strokes of genius turn out so well.

We went to the Santa Monica pier to show the boys the wackos there. We weren't disappointed. A "drummer" , pounding on paint buckets and hub caps. Now that's a way to earn a good living.

This is not exactly what I pictured Power Rangers looking like.

Then over to Sprinkles to get Rachel H. some cupcakes. While we were driving on Rodeo drive Scotty told me that someday when he is rich he is bringing me there to buy a beautiful dress. Love that boy. Jeff says 'way to suck up'. I told him he could learn something from his brother.

On to the world famous Pinks Hot Dogs. A bazillion calories in a bun.

I saw this lovely creature while waiting in line, she was advertising her line of business.
I'll pass.

We parked outside a Jewish school, all of a sudden all these little Hassidic boys with ear locks started streaming out. I was so excited! It's the MorJew in me. I know, I'm a goober.

I love driving in LA, it's kind of like my own little "Woman vs Wild" adventure.

On our way to San Diego to see the Hazens, we stopped by San Clemente and saw our friend, the ridiculously misguided Dodger fan, Tylyn. They live about a block from the beach. Gorgeous.

On to San Marcos and the Hazens! We love this family and are so blessed to count them as some of our bestest friends. It was fun to see RJ pitch in his little league game. We went to pick up Payton from school and we went into her class. There all the cute little 1st graders are and then there's Pay, with a crown on. Because she truly is a princess.

Then, the highlight of my trip....meeting DIANE!! What a doll, a teeny-tiny little doll. I very generously offered to share some of the junk in my trunk with her. I'm a good friend. It was wonderful to spend time with Rachel, my soul sister and to meet Diane. Not enough time, but fun.

Saturday morning was spent at the Oakland temple with this sweet couple, Ashley and Brett.
Ashley was in seminary with me for three years and spent lots and lots of time with me at school as my TA for two years. I love this girl and am so proud of the beautiful young lady she has become. In the temple she grabbed me in a bearhug and started to cry. "Thank you, thank you for helping me understand that this is worth it" she whispered to me. Those are the moments that make the early, early mornings worth it, when you realize that you HAVE done something good in the world.

Just a little quiet moment, hard to find at a wedding.

Is there anything more beautiful than a happy bride?

THEN, we saw Celia's kids in Fiddler on the Roof. Celia has every right to be proud, they were marvelous. My mouth hurt from smiling so much!

I came back home to five days worth of dishes in the sink that Mitch 'forgot' to wash and even more blossoms. Home sweet home.

U Can't Touch This

2009-03-19T20:12:00.000-07:00

It was Hammertime at Liberty today and I was there!!

Yep--MC Hammer came to Liberty and yours truly had some real fun with it.
But I'm wishin' I had worn some parachute pants, shoulder pads and some gold bling! I would have impressed him with my dance moves, but I don't have any. This white girl can't groove.

Why was he at little Liberty HS?
Here's the deal: A & E Television is filming a reality TV about Hammer that will be shown this summer. Ashton Kutcher (!) has a production company that is filming it. The premise is about what Hammer is doing now and his family and his life.

Me and the Ashton Kutcher look a like production manager.

Apparently after MC lost his $12 million house he moved to Tracy, (yes Jessica, YOUR Tracy!). He has been married to the same wife for 23 years and they have 4 children plus his nephew, Jamari.

Jamari runs track for Tracy High. Jamari's mother has had brain tumors and major health problems so Jamari has lived with Hammer and his family. Well, Jamari's mother was well enough to come to the track meet so she and Hammer came and A & E filmed the whole thing.

My children hate something about me.... I will talk to anyone. They don't like to go places with me because it "will take too long cuz you'll start talking to someone...." Today my little talent paid off. We were sitting right there and whenever they weren't filming, I was talking. For instance, I found out that last week they filmed in PROVO because he did a show at UVSC. He loved Provo/Orem and even went to Kneaders for breakfast and had French toast. (Yep, I had a little chat with MC. )

Because of my lack of social norms and taboo's, we got to visit with the production staff, Jamari's mother Debbie and Hammer himself. And we will be in the show a ton. We signed the release forms and had our pictures taken. SO FUN! What a nice guy and what a fun afternoon my 'homies' and I had.

I'd like to thank Hammer for coming today and giving me the inspiration to continue dieting, I saw these pictures ....and enuf said.

ALSO: In an unrelated matter, I got yelled at by my beautiful daughter today for failing to mention Jeffrey's birthday yesterday.

My boy turned 15. I thought that the two posts in two weeks dedicated to him were sufficient, I was wrong. Mea Culpa. Also, last year I did an in-depth blog in honor of Jeff. We did get him a camera, took him putt-putt golfing and took him to Cheesecake Factory for dinner, where he got sick and couldn't eat. Typical Groseclose family dinner. Happy Belated Birthday Fefe, we love you!

Once again Scotty wears a great outfit...where is his mother?

Hate it when your kids get taller than you!

His own camera, now he can stop doing funky things to mine!!!

P.S. Scotty made the Competition team. Let the games begin.

A little progress report...

2009-03-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

Five months from today I turn 5-0, that’s 50!
When I turned 49 I was totally okay with 50…now?
Not so much.
Unfortunately I saw the US Government’s mortality stats and my life is a little less than 2/3 over. I’m not ready for that. I don’t have Grandchildren yet and my life is doing nothing but going downhill from here!!

But I made a goal, and so far, so good.
My goal was to lose 50 pounds before I turned 50.
(I can’t believe that I am putting that out there!)

I am faithfully starving to death, (dieting), eating 1200 calories a day.
I am also enjoying (enduring) going to the gym a few days a week.
Once again I am attempting to give up my beloved Diet Pepsi and be happy (tolerate) the benefits of only water.

I am happy to report that I am 1/3 of the way to this goal.
Truthfully, I can’t really tell yet that I have lost anything. Nothing is loose on me yet, I guess that means I was wearing everything too tight!!
I think my double chin is smaller, I think. THAT would make me happy, happy, happy!

I have learned a couple of things during this little process:

a. I really don’t like to sweat. I REALLY don’t like to sweat.
b. For some reason I don’t think I have endorphins. If I do, they aren’t releasing themselves and making me love exercise.
c. Giving up soda is like giving up crack, I’m sure of it.
d. I’m still not loving salads. If God had wanted me to be a rabbit, He would have made me one.
e. It’s easier for me if I eat the same exact thing everyday, but I don’t think I supposed to be doing that.
f. Calories OUT must be more than calories IN. Simple equation.
f. I have to write everything down for accountability. If it’s a crumb, I write the dumb crumb down.
g. Unfortunately, low fat and low sugar doesn’t necessarily mean low-calorie.
h. We’re living in a 100 calorie world, too many of those can be trouble.
i. I can not have Oreos in my house.
k. This is mind over matter, and I need to get to the point that how I feel matters.
k. Losing weight is my Mt. Everest. I sure wish I had a Sherpa to carry the load for me.

I think I might have a little 50th birthday/50 less pounds contest/giveaway.

And you have 5 months to plan the celebration. (Dang, if only my real friends read my blog. Tell your moms will you Brandi & Erin?)

Maybe if I’m busy I won’t notice my ever more present wrinkles.

Not my favorite...Humble Pie

2009-03-12T21:21:00.001-07:00

How do you like your crow?
Baked?
Broiled?
Fricasseed?
Fried?
Marinated?
Jerky?
Barbequed?

I hate eating crow,
Luckily I'm not the one who has to THIS TIME...
This time
The Crow feasting goes to.....

Jeff!!!!

These are our friends John and Tylyn (and their newly engaged daughter, Tahnee)
We love John and Tylyn, they are practically perfect except for one pretty major character flaw.
They are fans of the 'cough' 'cough' 'gag''choke' (I can barely type the words...):

Friends don't let friends be Dod-ger fans.

The only good Dodger is....

Well, there isn't one!

They really are terrific people , if you can just get past that one little thing.

Last summer we were lucky enough to meet for dinner while we were in SoCal. John and Jeff got in a friendly little conversation about baseball. John forgot he is a nice guy and started rubbing it in that the best team in baseball has been a little down on its luck for the past few (many) years. He proposed a friendly little bet with Jeff, (which just reinforces my 'no-gambling allowed' policy) The bet was something to the effect that the team that went furthest in the playoffs, the other person would have to wear that teams shirt for a week.

When the Dodgers (ew ick) went to the playoffs, John called crowing about it.
(They went out in the first round may I point out....)

So for months we have been waiting for THE SHIRT.
John would make little snide phone calls....
Tylyn would send mocking e-mails...
Really, they forgot they are our friends and were tormenting my son.
What would you expect of a Tommy Lasorda fan after all?

BUT....the bet was made fair and square.
The shirt came and to our surprise, it was personalized!
Jeff pulled it reluctantly on and shivered a bit with distaste and horror.
But he wore it. To seminary, to school, to the store, in public
Facing the ridicule of his peers. What a brave, brave, boy.

Opening day is just around the corner and John,
we have already picked out your Giants shirt for next year.
Get ready Buddy...it's OUR year.
Wanna bet?

And Tylyn...remember THIS day?....that would be YOU, smiling, at a Giants game.

Picture circa 1996...check out the size of the "cell" phone the guy behind us is using!!!

Love the Orange and Black
Go Giants!

How I got my Girl Scout Cookies...

2009-03-06T22:57:00.000-08:00

Thursday night I went out with my friends. I am big believer in girl friendships, I think they keep me sane. We went to my high school's spring musical, 'Little Women', starring Shaelie, my bff Pam's ultra talented daughter. And she really was the star, she played Jo, and I gotta say, she was amazing. (And who knew Little Women was a musical?)

So while I was gone having a good time, Mr. Neat and Tidy got a bee in his bonnet and decided to clean out the refrigerator. It's a good thing I have him, I would let things grow mold and legs and walk out on their own in protest. But this particular episode did not go well.

Thrown away was the soft, yucky fruit. Out went old chili, potato salad and spaghetti. It was the spaghetti that turned the whole, usually fulfilling activity for Mr. Neat and Tidy, sour.

Now he says it was two tablespoons of spaghetti down the drain. Um. no.

So here's a public service announcement for you....Don't put large amounts of spaghetti down the drain. It clogs them. No bueno.

After swearing and plunging, and plunging and swearing some more, the drain was still clogged. I got home at 10:30, surveyed the kitchen and my husband's mood and went off to the store to buy Draino, or something like it.

So here's a second public service announcement for you....Draino, Liquid Plumber and Draino Max DON'T dissolve spaghetti. That was a $17 lesson. Learn from me on this one.

It was still plugged when I got up this morning and Mr. Neat and Tidy almost had cardiac arrest that he had to leave it all day long. I went somewhere after work and when I finally got home, Mr. Neat and Tidy had turned into Mr. Neat and Tidy Plumber. Arranged neatly were all the assorted under the kitchen sink products. He was under the sink, trying to dislodge pipes that have never been undone for 15 years. Virtually impossible.

He asked me to go to the hardware store to buy a 'snake'. Sensing that he was just about to snap, of course I did! I drove up to my local Ace Hardware and what do you think I saw?

Of all people! Celia Fae and the lovely and gracious and funny Claire. Imagine my surprise and my delight!

Now THIS friends, is the way to make a sale. Learn from a master all ye amatuers!

Celia came in the store with me and in the six minutes we spent together we discussed gift giving (wink-wink Ilene and Lisa Marie), wacky relatives, seminary drama and Scotty's soccer progress, (he made the school team, one of only 3 sixth graders, woot woot). It was like speed dating friend style; because let's face it, Celia and I both have ADD and that's about our attention span.

I bought a snake and went outside where I was assaulted by boxes of Girl Scout cookies. One clogged sink + 1 trip to the hardware store = 7 boxes and $28 worth of Thin Mints and Tagalongs.

Claire and her friend Brianna

I'm dieting and having several thousand calories of Thin Mint cookies within reach is an exercise in stamina. I will not eat, I will not eat, I will not eat. Lucky for me Claire buckled them in safely so I wouldn't have cooky crumbles when I got home.

There was tons more excitement before this adventure was over, but I'll spare you all the scintillating details involving pipe wrenches, drills, chuk keys and a trip to Home Depot. Byron went to the play, I took over and it's done.

And there was more than a couple of tablespoons of spaghetti, but who's measuring? (moi)

I'm taking bets on how long the cookies last... seeing as how Scotty has eaten an entire box by himself in one night. I'm going to need a refill on the tagalongs Claire.

For the love of the game

2009-03-02T03:00:00.000-08:00

I think I have mentioned a couple (hundred) times that Scotty loves soccer. Yesterday was the big day for Competition Tryouts. Yep, yesterday, as in Sunday. Soccer tryouts were on Sunday and I let my kid go. ( Let the judging and tsk-tsking begin).

Every year he begs me to try out for the advanced teams, but being the lazy, slacker mother that I am, I don't let him and he plays on a house team. I make it sound good by using this logic: "Scotty...what would you rather do? You can go on Comp and play half the time and just be one of the players...OR you can play house, play every minute and be the BEST one on the team!!" It worked beautifully; until this year when the Comp coaches and Trainers came to his games to recruit him. Dang it. Dang it. Dang it. Then they started inviting him to THEIR practices, DANG IT.

It was freezing! What was that woman doing in a skirt and leggings? I know, I live in Cali, I don't really KNOW freezing. It's relative .

So I buckled under peer pressure, (who says it only teenagers who have pressure)? I was totally outnumbered, parents of kids on the comp team came to my office..."are we going to see Scotty at tryouts?" Daily e-mails..."just want to remind you about tryouts!". Messages on the cell phone, "Can't wait to see Scotty Sunday!!" Geez Louise folks; he's not Pele'!

We went. It rained and rained and rained. They had tryouts anyway. I think it was God teaching me a lesson. The wind was blowing with hurricane force, my umbrella kept turning inside out. My ears hurt, my hands were frozen. Long gone are those childhood days when if you were having fun the elements didn't matter. I was having fun watching him but I was cold. So, being the complete wussy-butt that I am I went to my car, pulled it around to kind of watch the kids playing (in a distance, far, far away). I lasted 30 of the 90 minute tryouts.

My drowned Soccer Rat. It was so cold and wet I couldn't get out of the car to take a proper picture. I know, LAZY.

Here's Scotty on his death-floor, hacking and moaning. That was the fastest case of pnuemonia EVER to develop.

BUT, I do have a question. I am curious about what other families have done about Sunday sports, performing arts, etc....? The coaches know that I am LDS and know that church is a must and they seem willing to work with us. What has your family done? What are your thoughts?

(If you haven't been through this, but have an opinion, bring it on, just keep it nice. I'm tenderhearted).

The kid has talent!

2009-02-23T20:43:00.000-08:00

The Christmas tree

Is there anything more fun than watching your children grow up?
It's rough.
Especially those dog days of pre-school when they can talk and have no coping skills or rational thoughts.
Everything seems like such a crisis to a small child.
Going to bed, sharing toys, wearing the same thing day after day after day, learning to do homework, fist fights in church, learning to work; everything is an ordeal, at least it was at my house!

Then, they turn into teenagers.
It's rough and it isn't pleasant then either! Now it's time for their butterfly wings to unfold slowly; and watching my children learning to take those first little flights of independence was hard for me. I want to keep them safe from the world wrapped snuggly in the cocoon of our home forever. But I am not getting my way!!

Our cousin Rebekah

another cousin, Erin

I have loved (okay, not loved, tolerated sadly)watching their personalities and interests taking shape.
In the past few months Jeff has fallen in love,
with my camera.
A little inexpensive digital camera, but in Jeff's hands it sees things I never would.

Lauren and Skyler

This picture is on our fridge!! We love it.

It is so fun to watch him grow up, develop interests and talents and hopefully a lifetime hobby. I wanted to give him a little internet art show. I might just be a proud mom, but I think my kid might just have some talent!!

An almond blossom that looks like it is just hanging by itself.

love this, see the little bug?

Take a bow Jeffy! Your first photography show, I hope there's many, many more!

Byron, Top Chef and color me Green

2009-02-20T21:09:00.000-08:00

For Valentines Day this year Byron took Scotty to Universal Studios. For the record, Scotty loved it. I stayed home because I was too, too sick. When they called me from Universal Studios the next day, I got even more sick. Look what was filming there!

The FINALS for the Top Chef summer competition between professional chefs and judges from the show. Have I mentioned that this is my FAVORITE show? In my dream world, I am a chef. I dream of whipping up some exotic dish with spices I have never heard of. I make the best chocolate everything I can imagine. I cook scallops with perfection, I am sought after and praised for my skills, talents and creativity. That's the wonderful thing about daydreaming, you can be what ever tickles your fancy. Until reality hits and slams you back into the real world. HATE that.

So anyway, I digress...Byron and Scotty were just walking around and saw the sign. Being the Mr. Nosy that he is, Byron asked what was going on. Next thing he knows, he has a wrist band and is going to be inside where the competition is, tasting the food and JUDGING it! Color me green with envy. (just make it a pretty shade please.) Scotty got to go in also, but he couldn't taste the food because he was under 13. BUT...they liked him so they set him in places and told him what to do and filmed him. Scotty's TV debut will be sometime this summer.

I guess I should mention that there were signs everywhere..."No Photography". I think if you take the pictures on your i-phone, and do it very secretively, it doesn't count because technically, it's not a camera, per se.
Do you agree?

The four finalists, narrowed down from 24. It was hard to get pictures from the front, too many guards.

When Byron told me what the competition was about, I was a little less green with envy and a little greener around the gills. Maybe it was a good thing I wasn't there. The competition was the finals and the ingredients were ORGAN meats. Like, as in, Hearts, Tongue, Stomach and something else gross. The chefs had to make a "street food" using one of the organs. Ew.
So Byron tasted everything and Scotty even took a couple of bites of Byron's stuff. (I tell you, that kid is a stud.) They LOVED the tongue tacos. (It grosses me out a bit JUST to type it....!)Byron got three helpings of the tacos so they interviewed and filmed him. The whole thing took about two hours because they had already done the cooking.

(It cracks me up how appetizing they make the food sound!)

For me, even though I think Bacon is natures' perfect food, even bacon wouldn't disguise the fact that I was eating a cow tongue. Gives me the heebie jeebies!! ew.

So, I missed my chance for Top Chef. I think I'll stick with Project Runway, it's safer than my other two favs, Survivor and Amazing Race, and no gross food is involved. ( Just measurements, which are also scary). The grass is always greener somewhere else isn't it?

PS. We love Top Chef, life stands still around our house at 7:00 on Wednesday. This year we are all rooting for Carla, who is the new background on our desktop. Thank you Jeff, now change it immediately. It's driving me crazy.

Doesn't that just make you dizzy?

My Heavenly smack down...

2009-02-12T21:18:00.000-08:00

I should know by now NEVER to brag, because sure-as-shootin', the minute I do, it's going to backfire.

Take for instance my gloating at school that I am the only one that hasn't taken a sick day in two years. AND that I haven't had a cold or flu in I don't know how long....

One week after my unwise gloating I have now taken two sick days and wished I could have taken out on a stretcher. I, and Byron, can not remember the last time I have been this sick. God heard me and shook his head..."tsk, tsk Jeni...smack!!!" I'm down for the count.

The negatives:

1. My throat hurts so bad I can't eat.
Oh wait! That's a positive.

2. I have been coughing so much I can't talk.
Oh wait again! My kids think that's a positive.

3. I can do nothing but lay on the couch and watch TV.
Shoot, it's been fun watching and sobbing over "Baby Story" and plotting how to get on "What Not to Wear".

4. I am so weak I can't cook for the fam.
Bingo!! Grandma lives in town and the fam had steak last night and I didn't do the dishes.

5. I had to take two days off work before a three day weekend.
(Having a hard time thinking that's really a negative here, they are paid)

6. I have to take cough medicine, icky stuff.
This is actually good, I can sleep in the middle of the day.

7. My tummy and sides hurt from all that hacking and coughing.
Wait! I lost an inch around my waist...who knew coughing could be an aerobic exercise!?

8. Being home in the middle of the day means I get to hear the drums of my son being beaten.
But, on the other hand, when he saw me on my death bed he stopped.
There is a heart in him after all.

9. Too sick to even go to Seminary.
More sleep!

10. Too sick to eat.
Have lost 4 pounds, what's not to love about that?

Isn't this pathetic? To show your sympathy and support, the author requests that you eat some chocolate on her behalf. She'd do it herself, but is too sick to get some and dang it! She's dieting.
Oh, and this is a testimony what hair and make-up can do for a person.

The Biggest Loser and me? Umm...no.

2009-02-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

If I had a dollar for every time someone said to me "You should go on 'The Biggest Loser', I'd be....well, I'd be doing something spectacular.

Is it a good thing or a bad thing to be told that? I promise that I won't post about dieting or weight loss for another month, but I had to make it really clear that I won't be applying for the show.
Ever.

Truthfully, I have never seen the show until today. I watched it on Oxygen or something and was absolutely horrified by what I saw! These are the reasons I won't be joining the other chubby bunnies at 'The Ranch'.

1. I wouldn't be caught DEAD let alone ALIVE in spandex biker shorts and a sports bra on National TV. Just the thought conjures up a horrible, horrible visual, even to me.

2. When all of America becomes blind and deaf, I will allow my weight to be broadcast, on National TV. I don't have a friend good enough to tell my weight to, why in the samh%#@ would I want 40,000,000 strangers to know? And if I did, there might be a "celebrity sighting" of me... like... in some place...say... like... Disneyland. Which would totally suck because the stalker might actually say my stats out loud. And then I'd have to give autographs to my public and my life would no longer be MINE, it would belong to all of America. Why, someone might expect me to be a role model. (But I absolutely guarantee that there are NO bong pictures of me, maybe a few with a bad perm in the 70's, but no bong.)

3. When they brought me my dinner of chicken pieces the size of dice, 2 grapes, 3 brussel sprouts and a saltine, I'd be sad. No...more than sad...I'd be ticked. And then when they told me to "eat up...that's it until tomorrow morning!!!!" (14 hours later) I would probably shamelessly try to steal saltines and brussel sprouts from the other people. I have no shame, hunger trumps all feelings of good will.

4. When the sun comes up and I report for breakfast and they tell me...."Okay you can eat after you lift that chest freezer full of beef and carry it 2 miles" or "pull that Grand Piano over the course of a 1/2 marathon and then you can eat your breakfast of Tofu, prunes and 1/4 of a piece of dry toast. I might lose it, just might lose it BIG TIME. Which technically WOULD make me the biggest loser.

5. And then there's Bob. Bob. I have the sneaky feeling that Bob and I probably wouldn't get along. I would have serious problems with Bob telling me to do 100 squats with 50 lbs of wheat on each shoulder followed by 2 hours on the treadmill set at 10 and a 20% incline, then followed by 400 scrunches. When I passed out and he slapped me around to wake me up and nose-to-nose screamed at me..."Come on!! You can do it!! Believe in yourself...!! How much do you want this....Don't you want this?"

"No," I would say..."I'm outta here!!!" I admit it, I'd be a total failure, I would cut and run.

But if someone wanted to nominate me for "What not to Wear..." I'm all in.

Puttin' on my walkin' shoes....

2009-02-05T20:35:00.001-08:00

When I look in the mirror all I see is big 'ol bags under my eyes and a double chin.
For some reason I miss the perfectly shaped eyebrows, the beautiful hazel eyes and the laugh lines born of lots of laughter
I see bags and chins.
And I hate them.
Yes, I know that hate is a very strong word but I do, I loathe them.
THEN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT JENI!
I can hear you screaming at me, I know, I know.

Last week I had a moment of motivation, it was a small moment, but a moment nonetheless.
I bought a pair of walking shoes last April, the day after Lauren got engaged. Somehow I lost them in the garage. After I had my small epiphany, I went to the garage, actually had to clean it a bit, but I found my walking shoes. Since then we have walked about 15 miles together. Not much, but it's something.

I have read some wonderful posts about New Years or post-baby weight loss goals. I admire these women immensely. What is wrong with me that I can't seem to catch the weight loss fever? Heaven knows I need it...but for some reason it feels like the golden ring far from my reach. I am not comfortable in my skin, I don't like buying clothes in the size jumbo but for some reason, I can not stick to a diet to save my life, (which is what a diet would probably do...)

That being said, I've been walking and trying to keep to a calorie controlled/well rounded diet. I'm writing everything down, reading labels, bought the "Calorie King" book which is my new Bible. The equation is really simple, calories in must be smaller than calories out. So far I have lost 4 pounds. Not even a drop in the bucket , is there something smaller? A molecule in the bucket?

I am walking around my neighborhood in the dark living in fear that some student will see me swinging my arms like a bad 60's movie robot. I am walking only 40 minutes each night right now, the first part is okay, the next 37 minutes is agony. My problem is my left knee which is arthritic and my right calf which cramps up on me after 1/2 mile every time I walk. Tonight both calves cramped; time for bananas (which, of course, are on the bad fruit list...).

I am inspired by your fitness and desire for healthy lifestyles. All these years I have not had a lick of motivation, and truthfully, I am not so deep that I delve into the introspection of my heart and soul and actually LOOK for inspiration and motivation. But I know it's the right thing to do. I am pushing 50 with a short stick, a very short stick and so I guess it's time.

There you have it, I have made my walking public knowledge!! Encourage me and hold me accountable. Who knows how long I'll last, but some is better than nothing right?

PS. Do you burn more or less calories if you limp?

Great Parenting 101

2009-01-29T21:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Mrs. Gallagher,

I am so happy that Scotty has you for Pre-Algebra, he is really enjoying the challenge of the class.
Now about that worksheet you gave them for homework.....
He finished it.
I want you to know Mrs. Gallagher, that Scotty is delusional.

We aren't as bad of parents as the worksheet may make us seem.

Sincerely,

Byron and Jeni
(who you have known for years and years and know to be fabulous parents)

Look Carefully at this chart. What part do you think made me feel like a pond scum mother"

The recession has gone too far....

2009-01-26T15:36:00.000-08:00

Today I ran across this article on the Internet. I am seeing the good and the bad in it. The good is less cookies for me to eat, the bad is less cookies for me to eat. I'm in a quandry, upset beyond belief...less thin mints ? That's a travesty.

Facing Increased Costs, Girl Scouts Downsize Cookie Boxes

"It's always seemed a little too effortless to finish off a box of Girl Scout cookies, but if they are a little easier to dust off this year, it's not just in your head.

To offset the cost increases of cookie ingredients, Girl Scouts of the USA made the decision to shrink its cookie boxes by a centimeter, package fewer cookies into boxes of Thin Mints, Do-si-dos, and Tagalongs, and reduce the size of its Lemon Chalet Crèmes.

According to the organization, the cost of flour rose by 30 percent, assorted cooking oils by 40 percent, and cocoa by at least 20 percent. The company felt this was the best method of dealing with increasing raw material prices. Alternatively, Girl Scouts could have used cheaper ingredients, or raised cookie prices from their current price of $3.50 per box.
This doesn't come as a surprise to me, since last year producers began rolling out shrunken products in reaction to the price of food on the rise. I'm secretly a bit excited — for once, the downsized box may be enough for me to stop short of a stomachache. "

Really, someone HAS JUST GOT to fix this economy. I could care less about the banks, the car manufacturers, Mervyn's ... but when the sweet little Girl Scouts are affected, somethings' got to give. Give them a bailout, reduce their flour and oil prices, outsource the baking to India....just don't mess with my Samoas. President Obama, you are the answer to ALL the world's problems...take care of this first thing will you? I guarantee you sir, it's a matter of national security.