Trip to Sunny California

Well, this picture of Nicki on the beach says it all. It fits into the Happiest DAY EVER category! We went to several beaches but my favorite was called "Crystal Cove" and yes, it was as idyllic as the name sounds. Mom & dad taught us how to boogie-board (these are my parents! & they're great-grandparents... how cool are they?) and it was so fun. I will treasure the memory of catching a good one and gliding in right next to Helen, laughing all the way.

Nicki survived almost a solid week of 'old-folks' (myself included) with her sanity in-tact. Her i-pod battery died so she was stuck listening to hours of The Carpenters and Frank Sinatra and she didn't even complain but yesterday when she was in charge of the radio it was anything but oldies.

Good Stuff

Have you had your dose of 'positivity' today? It's way more important than your daily multi vitamin. For health we need the following each day: goosebumps, laughter, sunshine, up-beat music, puzzles, and love! I didn't mention the other obvious stuff like sleep, exercise, and good-food because those are already much discussed. Yesterday I saw a thing on the news about how to keep your brain sharp into old age. They said that surfing the web can keep your brain active and keep those neurons firing! (That's not the scientific description, but you get my drift) Here is one that falls into the category of puzzles... colorstrology. Sounds intriguing! It was on Hiedi's blog. I want to know more! I have a friend who sees the days of the week as colors in her mind. Anyway, my favorite daily uplift came from youtube. It's a quote from a talk by F. Enzio Busche with some pictures and it is amazing... you will love it. I was going to paste the address here but I don't know how, so just go to youtube and type in his name. Of all the funny and inspiring things that my in-box has held, this one is my favorite. (sorry Tad, I really do love all the 'redneck' jokes too)

This is the collage we made at Lindsey's... and the before & after pics. It is about 1/3 done.

The Sisterhood of the traveling collage

Wow, what a fun week. I get so creative when I am trying to avoid a job! So my progress on the antique Conoco sign has been a bit slow but I do have a picture to show you the before and afters. Any encouragement would be greatly appreciated since I am in a Slump, and as you know "Un-slumping yourself is not easily done." (Anyone know where that quote came from??)

Thursday was especially fun since a bunch of the girls (all young at heart!) in my family got together to eat & talk, two of our favorite things to do. We also did some artwork, Hiedi was our muse. It was a great day and while we were reading some histories about some of the great ladies in our family tree, I like to think they were smiling down on us! Here's a couple of tid-bits: Grandma Dorothy, when she was a young girl used to save her pennies to buy flower seeds... and Grandma Helen loved the month end sales at Robinson's department stores. I heard those sales (unlike our perpetual 'fake' sales) were like an Olympic event. That would have been in the 1940's and 50's in Pasadena, California. Man I wish I could go back in time and watch, don't you? You really had to keep you wits about you. It's good to know that frugality is a feature in our family tree! I sure did miss all of you that couldn't make it. XOXO

To end today's blog I will quote from one of the most inspriational books of all time:

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things athat scare you right out of your pants.

It's October so.... Nicki made me watch a scary movie with her last week (it was called Shutter, I don't recomend it) and that night it was scary when I had to get up in the night to p.
Serves me right.

Come what may... and love it!

This last weekend was conference and we were in St. George. I missed the Saturday afternoon session because we went to climb the red rocks above the city. There is a slot canyon just above St. George that many people don't even know exists! It is amazing. I love the challenge of doing something that scares me just a little, something that proves I can overcome the fear in my mind. Sidestepping through this claustraphobic space where in one spot you can feel the rock pressing in on you from the front and back simultaneously, is mind over matter! But when you do it, it feels like a victory.

So today I got on line (lds.org) to watch some of the talks I missed and wow! I found a good one. Joseph B. Wirthlin gives an amazing talk on life's challenges and disapointments and tells of the advice of his mother after losing a football game... she said "Come what may... and love it!" He also tells a little story about his daughter and a blind date that is probably the best laugh of the whole conference! Look it up and smile. It only takes about ten or fifteen minutes of your day but it's so worth it.

I think the reason I loved his talk so much is that as you get older... (and I am sooooooooooo old now!) there are some things YOU JUST KNOW. And one of those things I know is that every person experiences disapointment in life, and days that are just awful. Brother Worthlin says that you can learn to laugh at yourself and that is huge for me. My precious daughters are always reminding me that I am too serious and it is so true. I've already written down this little nugget of wisdom to stick to the fridge: "the next time you are tempted to groan-- you might try to laugh instead!" Thank goodness for all the funny people in my life who are coaching me with their wit. This one is from Becky: "in our house, we keep it a little more loosey-goosey!" (and aren't we all glad for that, or else they wouldn't tolerate us all hanging out there all the time!). Well, if you watched Elder Wirthlin's talk, the next time you are driving in traffic and someone cuts you off... you won't be tempted to act as if they insulted your dog!

Ode to Mom

Today's post is dedicated to my mom (who Brad affectionately refers to as
"Oh my Helen!"). Without her.... well, I wouldn't be here. Among other sterling qualities, my mom was a whiz at making scrumptious meals out of the most basic of ingredients. She was too cheap (remember, from here on out, this is the highest praise!) to buy Betty Crocker cake mixes like other moms, but we did have a Bettty Crocker cookbook and I had a huge sweet tooth soooooooo... by the time I was about 16 I knew how to cook a number of delicious desserts - from scratch. Some of my favorites were cinnamon rolls, cream puffs, German chocalate cake, and of course, apple pie. To my husband's dismay, I never mastered meats, but I'm still working on that. Mom was extrememly patient about the messes I created along with the goodies. I wish I could be more like that.

Moms out there: can any of us imagine cooking for 12 people day in and day out?! Amazing! So mom, hats off to you. For keeping us well fed and letting us make a big mess in the kitchen while we were learning to cook, I will be forever grateful.

Some of my favorite food momories: Mom's stir fry rice with yummy morsels of meat, tamale casserole, baked chicken & potatoes on Sunday with a crispy salad, and who can forget the whole wheat waffless topped with peaches and whip cream... YUM!

Mom's famous words: "DON'T THROW THAT OUT!.... it's still good!"

Today's quote
"Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has it's stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle, and a victory." Gandhi

ps... the reason I picked that quote is that I am in the 'drudgery' stage of a painting project (preserving an old Conoco sign on Payson Main Street) and I keep finding busy work to avoid it. It is outdoors so I need to finish it before the cold weather hits! Help. Anyone want to come over and crack the whip?