PROMOTE WHAT YOU LOVE.....

This is such an important time in my life........It's my time to reflect and redirect. This is my time to fully picture my beautiful future----a powerful step toward making it happen.   My time to choose my next move, the one that will take me to great places as my next birthday is breathing down my neck. 

   Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate.......

Positive thinking goes a long way.  Be a positive influence.  Promote compassion, love being a friend, embracing others' differences from yours, lending a hand, being  there for someone instead of promoting gossip, hate, ignorance, being unkind, judgmental etc.  I hope I have raised my girls to think and be positive.

Karrie called and invited me to lunch........".I haven't seen you all week Mom".........A bowl of soup at ZUPPAS, one of our favorites.  It is so wonderful when your busy children take time to be with you and share what is going on in their lives and the fun things the grandchildren are doing.  I feel Karrie's love and concern and the great bond we have.  I am a lucky Mom.

Talked to Lucille......yesterday was Brian's birthday and they were off to dinner tonight.  Talked to Leslie and she was excited about getting a job at the Eurecka Conceino.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAZILIAN MISSIONARY.....

Two long years have finally passed and our first family missionary sees his family tomorrow and a Happy Birthday today to Alex Christenson.......... a big 21 years.  Sherrie and Darren left today to bring him home in a week.  Send them away as a 19 year old boy and they come home two years later a 21 year old man.  I am staying with the two little brothers.....

Today I also took the Panniers to the airport and they are on their way to Argentina to fish.......in fact they crossed paths in Atlanta!!!! 

I had a great day with good friends playing bridge and having lunch at the Town Club......didn't win, but had a great time. My turn next month......groan......Been beautiful weather but have a storm coming in for the weekend.

SUCCESS IS NOT THE KEY TO HAPPINESS........HAPPINESS IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS!  If you love what your doing you will be a success................

TWO OPINIONS........

There seems to be two different opinions about drinking coffee.....MINE and the CHURCH.......No......I keep seeing articles from Doctors that say a couple of cups a day are good for you..... and.no worse than a couple of huge coke drinks with caffeine.  So why can't the world let everyone make their own decisions without condemning someone?  I very much enjoy a couple of cups of coffee in the morning with my paper......and I am not feeling one bit guilty about it......so many worse things I could be doing out there.........

COFFEEOLOGY

Expresso Yourself.........Better Lattee Than Never.......Take Life one Cup at a Time........Friends Don't Let Friends Drink Bad...(.or cold)....Coffee....... Take Time To Surell The Coffee......Deja Brew......That Feeling you've had This Coffee Before.......So many coffee jokes around also.  So to everyone, to have or not to have ......a cup of coffee is up to you.

The best gift you could ever give someone is your time.....because you're giving them something

that you'll never get back!

Beautiful day 62 degrees today......Time flying for the 3 girls all traveling this weekend.  Sherrie counting the minutes till she leaves tomorrow to pick up her missionary in Brazil.....two years is a looooog time!  Panniers off to a fun adventure fishing trip to Argentina......and the Cooks off to Scottie's LaCross tournament in Las Vegas.   ME....I am hanging up my DUNNROVIN' sign!!!!

CHAPTER #31....around the world cont.

BEAUTIFUL SCENES LIKE THESE OF HAWAII NEVER END.....I HAVE BEEN TO HAWAII MANY TIMES AND EVERY TURN IS A PICTURE......So Ahhhhhh,....... Everyone needs to visit Hawaii some time in their life.... The many trips to Hawaii as the children were growing up were good memories for me......The children's father was an airline pilot for Western Airlines and we could fly on passes whenever we wanted.....so going to Hawaii or Mexico was like driving to Las Vegas for most people.....and cheaper!

No, we didn't get to stay in the famous "PINK HAWAII ROYAL" every time, but we did stay there once with some relatives.......but it was fun just being there buying mumus and good cheap junk and especially escaping our cold Utah weather each winter.......

Occasionally we rented a car and drove around the island....Sugar cane fields, pineapple fields......We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Aquarium.  Loved the programs the hotel put on and Hawaiian music is my favorite music.  I remember several luaus, but never learned to like poi.  I did fall in love with PINA Colatas and sun tanning. No one can disagree the sunsets, atmosphere for relaxation and the interesting people call you back many times.

When the twins graduated from high school  their senior trip was to Hawaii......Their cousin Mike graduated from BYU Hawaii and got married then,,,,,,so my whole family enjoyed a great vacation.

After my divorce, Ann and I visited all the islands checking out the WESTON HOTELS  for the travel agency we worked for......it was a whole different kind of visit for me.

DOWN THE ROAD A WAYS.......

What can I say......a Grandmother is just out there.....This is Alex with a picture of  his last baptism and a picture of him with a lady missionary from El Salvador that he thinks he can't live with out!!!!!  What is the answer to this.....I wish I knew....I only know when my mother insisted she take a baby Navajo girl and raise  her in our family.......it was a disaster......Linda was raised feeling she was a white child like all of us, but when it came time for school dances, proms etc.  No white boy was here friend, no Navajo boys around and she was left with the Mexican boys in town........ which she was not happy with.......It only got worse as she got older.....I know things have changed a lot in the past years and many mixed cultures try to work it out........Alex we do have many, many, many darling girls in Utah........His parents are picking him up in Brazil a week from today and her mission ends in July.....so we shall see how it ends........

It may  be painful for us to see our children modifying or even rejecting ideas that were important to us and adopting others that could never be comfortable for us.  But out of that difference may come the reinforcement of two other important values.....One is tolerance, and other is awareness that people who disagree over the things they hold dear really can live together in love and respect.......It may be differing about some of what we represent in the way of culture, traditions, and values....IT IS....WHAT IT IS.....and .THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON, JUST BELIEVE!.

CHAPTER #30....arouund te world cont......

The  beautiful island of MALTA and the city of VALLETTA!.....Going ashore here brought back to mind......the ancient-ness and history of these small islands around the world that were fought over for many years.......each leaving it's marks and traditions very noticeable.  This island was made famous because of the movie "POPEYE"....which America loved. Valletta hugs the side of a cliff and  has a nice harbor.  The water all around was blue with good beaches and donkeys still hauled their loads up narrow streets......The people are called Maltese mixed with many British.  They are good and religious and have many old customs they pass from generation to generation.

My favorite custom there is:   When a child is a year old they set him on the floor and surround him with various things........ money, bible, boiled eggs, crucifix, books, tools or whatever the parents want.   Whatever the child seems most interested in will reveal the child's path and fortunes in adulthood.  Money to a rich future while a book expresses intelligence and possibly a career as a teacher.  If pen or pencil selected, perhaps a writer, a bible or beads, a clerical life, a hard boiled egg....... then long life with many children and a good cook.   I  love the customs of each island or country I have visited.......

Spent today with Pam looking for pillows, carpets etc. for her new home......Lunch at Sweet Tomatoes and hit a few more stores.  Went to see her new curtains and see if what we bought worked......some did......some didn't!  We got another snow storm but it melted down here and melted as fast as it fell.....Nice tonight.....but cold.  One week from today, Pam and Sherrie are both off to South American....... for different reasons.   Sherrie to pick up her Missionary and Pam on a fishing trip with her husband.......I get the dogs!

 

PILLS AND THE ELDERLY..........

With each passing day.....and year....... I feel my kids just have to become use to all 'my strangeness'......I guess they just chalk it up to......she's gettin' old!  I look at it as some rainbows of old age are wrinkles and fat don't hurt..........most my friends can relate to the following.

A row of bottles on my shelf......Cause me to analyze myself....One yellow pill I have to pop, goes to my heart so it won't stop.......A little white one that I take, goes to my hands so they won't shake......The blue ones that I use a lot, tell me I'm happy when I'm not!.....The purple pill goes to my brain, and tells me that I have no pain......The capsules tell me not to wheeze, or cough or choke or even sneeze.......The red ones, smallest of them all, go to my blood so I won't fall......The orange ones, very big and bright, prevent my leg cramps in the night.....such an array of brilliant pills, helping to cure all kinds of ills.....But what I'd really like to know.....Is what tells each one where to go?

What is the secret to longevity......"KEEP BREATHING".

Off to bridge this afternoon......means  I don't get much done today.......

 

 

TWINS OF MY TWINS......

WHAT A FUN WEEKEND WITH MY TWO 18 YEAR OLD SENIOR GRANDCHILDREN!  SHERRIE AND KIDS CAME TO TOWN TO HELP PANNIERS MOVE.  THE KIDS PITCHED IN, THEN IN THE AFTERNOON WE WENT OFF FOR PIZZA AND SOME SHOPPING.  ANNIE TRIED TO CONVINCE BRAYDEN HE NEEDED SOME T-SHIRTS WITH POCKETS AND VERY LOUD SOCKS......WHICH THEY DON'T WEAR IN VERNAL........ AND ONLY SHE COULD DO.  THE TWINS HAD THESE TWO ONE DAY APART AND THEY HAVE BEEN SUCH GOOD FRIENDS FOR 18 YEARS. BRAYDEN  BORN ON MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY 16TH OF AUGUST AND ANNIE THE DAY BEFORE.  TWO OF THE GREATEST KIDS EVER.  WE ARE AT BRIGHTONS BASKET BALL GAME WHERE ANNIE RECEIVED AN AWARD BEING A SENIOR CHEERLEADER.......SHE WAS WALKED OUT BY HER PARENTS......AS WE CHEERED HER ON..... AFTER GRADUATION BRAYDEN WILL BE OFF ON A LDS MISSION AND ANNIE PLANS TO GO TO UVU IN THE FALL.

OF COURSE, MY YOUNGEST GRANDSON.....SCOTTIE KEEPS AN EYE ON BOTH OF THEM IN THE BACKGROUND.

PAM AND ROB CAME BY FOR ONE LAST LOAD THIS MORNING AND INVITED ME TO DINNER THIS AFTERNOON WITH MORE FUN GRANDCHILDREN.......LIFE IS GOOD!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY......LATE!

 

This should really say "MY BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN".............I had the best VALENTINE'S DAY ever......Flowers and candy from Panniers, Flowers and gift certificate from the Cooks, Sherrie bought me dinner.....bought all of us dinner! Karrie and kids, Sherrie and kids and I moved everything out of the basement over to Pannier's new house.  IT WAS MOVE IN DAY FOR PAM AND ROB....four cars making several trips with cute young ambitious kids lifting and running up and down the stairs ......really helped us oldies out a ton.......especially Brayden!  I am so proud of my kids so willing and working so hard........happy to help.  Karrie had been to the chiropractor twice last week so was unable to lift.....but she offered her car and ran for drinks for us, then took the two younger ones home to keep them busy. 

When the movers arrived the girls and kids and I snook off to California Pizza for lunch then over to Nordstroms to use gift certificates and shop a little.  .....even got Brayden into some wild socks......which wasn't easy.. Sher and I back with one more trip of flowers, ,coffee maker, etc. Then to meet the Cooks for dinner at LaCocina.  All of us to the Brighton Basket Ball game as Annie was being honored as a Senior Cheerleader and her folks had to present her.......Sher and I left early.....very tired but such a great Valentine's day with my kids and grandkids all pitching in with love. 

Today Sherrie and kids had to pick up some things before taking off for home.  Karrie's family checking out UVU in Provo where Annie thinks she wants to go next year.  Pam came by and we loaded her car as she was off to do chores and I may just go back to bed!

ANYWAY HAPPY VALENTIN'ES DAY EVERYONE........

"THIS IS THE HOUSE THAT ROB BUILT"

BIG DIG DAY..........!

 

THIS IS THE KITCHEN AND HERE IS THE BEDROOM............

 

THE BEGINNING OF HOME SWEET HOME......!

 

 LOOK REAL WALLS.......!

 

 MOVING ALONG......TOOOO SLOWLY..............!

 

A FRONT DOOR........!

 

LOOK GOOD.....EVEN A ROOF....!

IT HAS BEEN A FUN SIX MONTHS WATCHING THE PANNIER'S NEW HOME COME TO LIFE........I HAVE ENJOYED MY TEMPERARY ROOMMATES, BUT I KNOW THEY WERE COUNTING THE DAYS TILL THEY COULD MOVE OUT OF MY CONDO BASEMENT.  BRE AND GIGI BECAME GOOD FRIENDS.  PAM PAINTED MY BATHROOM AND SHE AND KARRIE PAINTED MY FIREPLACE WALL.  ROB ORDERED A "BIG" WATER HEATER AND THREE TALL TOILETS FOR ME......".MERRY CHRISTMAS GRAMMIE"..../PUT A NEW DOGGIE DOOR ON FOR ME, ALL THINGS I APPRECIATE VERY MUCH.  ALSO, WE HAVE HAD A FEW MOVIE DATES WHEN PAM WENT OFF TO WORK.......WELL, YESTERDAY.....VALENTINE'S DAY ....FEBRUARY 14, 2014, SHERRIE CAME TO TOWN WITH BRAYDEN AND KEN AND ANNIE AND SCOTTIE AND WE MOVED THEM INTO THEIR NEW BEAUTIFUL HOME.......WHERE WERE THEIR KIDS OR ROBS RELATIVES?????? LOTS OF SORE BACKS TODAY.........I GUESS IT'S BACK TO PEACE AND QUIET FOR GIGI AND I. THEY ARE VERY CLOSE TO ME AND I KNOW WE WILL BE BACK AND FORTH ALOT IN THR FUTURE.

 

CHAPTER #29.......around the world

My AFRICAN TRIP was one of my favorite "adventures".........This view of CAPE TOWN AFRICA....... from the ride up to Table Mountain......tells it all.  Cape Town's natural beauty.....soaring cliffs that tumble down to the ivory beaches of the Atlantic coast and a skyline presided over by majestic Table Mountain........usually covered by a white table cloth of white clouds........  The unlikely mix of cultures began commingling as far back as the 17th century,,,,,,

I knew very little about the interesting city.....other than the problems the famous and wonderful 'MANDELLA' was having trying to change things for the better.  Sad to hear and see how the black people were treated by the white people.  I enjoyed the colony of Penguins south of town and the cute monkeys along the road to the mountain top. Of course, I can't neglect mentioning one of favorite places the bustling Victoria & Alfred Waterfront on the Harbor, the most visited site on the continent..... They have many small and very different or unique venues for shopping and eating.

Ann and I spent a great week there  after our 21 day cruise down the African coast........before heading to Johannasburg and flew home.

COUNTING DAYS.....

This is my first missionary.....Alex .....with the last person he baptized in Brazil.   He will be home in three weeks after his two year mission there.  Sherrie and Darren are going down to pick him up and I will tend Brayden and Ken while they are gone.    He will come back with so many memories and stories to tell.  He looks so grown up......send off a 19 year old boy and he comes home a 21 year old man!  Yes......

Panniers are counting hours until they sign on the dotted line for their new home tomorrow......and they can escape my basement after 6 months......Very excited.  I will miss them.....and Bree.

My Karrie has been sick all week, I worry about her and that darn Fibermyalgia.  She has good days and bad days.  Not much on the news but the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

A MOTHER'S LESSON.....

 

I just love life......spent the day shopping with Pam for things for her new home.......you know my middle name is "SHOP"......Ikea, Penny's, Schells, R.C. Willey's.......looking for rugs, bookcases, desks or whatever.....I found some stools for my kitchen counter and I was not even looking for anything!.....Stopped at "the  Paradise " for lunch.   A fun day with your oldest daughter.....yes.  She will be moving out Friday after 6 months in the basement waiting for her new home to be built. 
     No ......there is no one out there that I am competing with to be better.....not even the Kmart lady.   Each day I just try to be a better me!......and I hope my kids realize that that?????
   Reading ....."The Witness Wore Red"...This wonderful mother of 19 had nothing but could teach her children each day something good.  They finally got a break from their life as slavery.....she took the children up behind the school and carefully un-picked a feather pillow and told the children to scatter the feathers in the wind which was great fun to the children......the she told them to go gather them up.....and they tried with the dead leaves, twigs and dirt.   Then she sat them down and said: "Words are like feathers,,,,It is so easy for them to come out, they scatter on the wind before you know it.  But like feathers, our words are not easy to gather back again.   Once out of your mouth, you simple cannot take them all back."  We all know this for a fact......so be mindful of what you say and who you say it to!
    "The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to burn and which bridge to cross."

SIMPLE JOYS.......

Simple joys can be big or small......Today Leslie made the effort to come up from Orem and take me to breakfast...... She came up from Mesquite for the weekend to take in a couple of movies the church made with her son and grandson in them.....such a good Mom and Grandma.  It was a shot in the arm on this cold, gloomy winter day.  But I am determine to find happiness in the simplest of joys........There are simple joys to be found in the most ordinary things.....a full moon, answered prayers, sharing a cup of coffee with a good friend......a chocolate doughnut!  I like to search each day for one of the small wonders in my life......Sometimes the simple joys of a day turn out to be the biggest of all miracles of all.

Think of the many lessons you have learned little at a time.....I grew up with my grandmother telling me of the "Aesop Fables" demonstrating the points in life I am glad I learned.....one favorite......THE CROW AND THE PITCHER. A crow, half-dead with thirst came upon a pitcher which had once been full of water, but when the Crow put its beak into the picture he found that only very little water was left in it, and that he could not reach far enough down to get it.  He tried and tried and at last had to give up in despair......Then a thought came to him, and he took a pebble and dropped it into the pitcher.  Then he took another pebble and dropped it into the pitcher.......and another, and another and another!  At last , at last, he saw the water mount up near him; and after casting in a few more pebbles he was able to quench his thirst and save his life......Here the lesson in life is;......"Little by little does the trick."

Remember this.........

Chapter #28...around the world

Russia.......so many beautiful pictures of this very interesting country. Downtown St. Petersburg is crowded with splendid palaces, impressive historical monuments, tree-lined avenues and beautiful bridges.  I found St. Petersburg to be a city crammed with historical and cultural stuff and a refined air of mystery.  My favorite memory and favorite place by far was the Hermitage Museum.....one of the largest and most impressive art collections in the world......founded on the collections of Empress Catherine the Great!  It is housed in the magnificent Baroque Winter Palace on  the Neva river.  You need many hours to see and enjoy it all.  We also peeked into a set which portrayed the famous Notradamas and his terrible history.  So, so interesting.  I loved the shopping, bright scarves, stacked dolls and interesting jewelry and intricate little boxes.

This week the 2014 Winter Olympics are being held in Sochi Russia and President Putin really out did himself on the Opening Ceremonies last night........I loved my visit to Russia, but must admit I am content to watch the Olympic from my nice safe home......

GO USA......

Today the OLYMPICS start in SOCHI, RUSSIA!!!  Russia is a huge country, very beautiful, powerful and a almost an enemy to the USA.......competition in everything.   I have been to St. Petersburg and Odessia but things keep changing.....does anyone know RUSSIA?.......High drama around every corner. But welcome to the 22nd Olympic Games....("Putin's Games}........

Kennedy stayed all night with me while the Christenson's celebrated an early Valentines Day!  Darren will be in Mexico next weekend....... (Valentine's weekend celebrating his father's 80th birthday)......The Panniers took off for the Barn after a walk through of the new house, they sign and pay next Wednesday and move the furniture in on Valentine's Day!  They are soooo tired of my basement .....6 months the 23rd!

My little sister, Leslie called on her way to Orem for the weekend with her son and asked if we could meet for breakfast......so looking forward to seeing her.....I miss my siblings.  Little brother, Jim, just had a back operation in Albuquerque.  Didn't get much done today but 3 batches of laundry......... The next two weeks will be fun watching the Olympics. ..............

BEYOND THE BODERS.......

BEYOND THE BORDERS.......Are there any borders that cannot be broken? We learn more, do more, see more, go further than other generations?  This is just a question that is always in my mind.....where are the borders?
THE FIRST SERMON....
The new priest at his first mass was so afraid that he could hardly speak.  Before his 2nd week at church, he asked the head priest how he could relax.  The head priest said "next week it might help if you could put martinis in the water pitcher.  After a few sip, everything should go smoothly"
The next week the young priest put the older's suggestion into reactive and really talked up a storm.  After the sermon he asked the head priest how he'd done.  The head priest replied......"Fine, but there are a few things you should learn before you address the congregation."
(1)...Next time sip the martinis rather than gulping them.  (2)...There are 10 commandments, not 12.  (3)...There are 12 disciples, not 10. (4)...David killed Goliath, he didn't kick the shit out of him.  (5)...We don't refer to our savior Jesus Christ and his disciples, as J.C. and the boys.  (6)...Next Sunday there is a taffy pulling contest at St. Peters, not a peter pulling contest at St. Taffy's.   (7)...We don't refer to the Cross as the Big T.   (8)...The Father, Son and Holy Ghost are not referred to as Daddy-O, Laddy-O, and the Big Spook. (10)...And last, but not least, it's the Virgin Mary, not Mary with the unpopped cherry!!!!
   I think that would be one Mass that everyone stayed awake for.......
   Got another snow storm last night.....not much down here but the mountains are looking good. Kar and Pam are going to paint for me tomorrow.

OLDER THAN DIRT......

From many years back I remember being told to "act your age"......now that I look back through those years......how can you act your age when you had never been that age before?   Such a good question!  Act your age......well, I have never been 81 before so I'm not sure I'm acting my age......not that I care much.  I was cleaning out the book case the other day and ran across a book my sister sent me.......she is only 11 years younger "What is this decimating scourge?"  Is it Aids, hate crimes, gout, or failure to post signs on the restaurant doors warning that microwave ovens are in use......No, it is a disease that's right before your eyes only you just can't see it......It's OLD AGE and I'll wager  hardly a family alive has not lost t least one precious loved one to this ruthless and debilitating scourge......
      Informative chapters:  How to find peace and happiness after the world has symbolically hurled you aside into the trash heap of life.......Although there are Worse Things than Being Older than Dirt, it still Stinks to Have Aches and Pains......Fun Things to do while you're waiting to Die Which Don't Require too Much Effort........
    See what you all have to look forward to......P day and emails from both my missionaries.  Alex excited only has three more weeks to go and Richie had been so sick he had to go to the doctor..... His Mom is worried.  My sweet Will came by to get his mail, good to see him..

SUPER BOWL DAY.......

What can I tell you......when it comes to football and the big Super Bowl......I am in the dark.....I do like the adds and if I am at a party I enjoy the food!  That seems to be all there is on TV this morning, but I say may the best team win!.....I have been trying to find out if the groundhog saw his shadow today, but Ground Hog Day seems to be taking a second place in the news.......maybe on the 10:00 pm news. All the kids are excited about today.
       I have always said my three girls are perfect......and oh yes, so are my nine grandchildren.  I think that somewhere deep inside all of us is the powerful longing for a perfect new generation.  Maybe since we are not perfect ourselves, we hope to a least create someone who might be.
      We all know how meticulously new parents look over their new baby to be sure there are no blemishes---no deviations from what they anticipated.  But no matter how beautiful the baby is, there are always deviations from what his or her parents anticipated.  The greater the deviation, the more those parents need to have the opportunity to mourn---mourn the loss of the image of the perfect child they dreamed they would have......They need to give up the image of having the perfect child before they can appreciate the child they really do have.......Well, maybe my kids are just human and I love them for that....... Happy Super Bowl and Ground Hogs Day!

ALL ABOUT LOVE.....

When people tell me....."your gonna regret that in the morning"......I sleep until noon because I'm a problem solver!!!!!
The best things in life are free and you have to love that......the hugs, friends, smiles, sleep, good friends, memories, laughter and lovin' your family!  Believe there was a reason you were born......free yourself from limitations.....if you enjoy what your doing.....keep doing it.....Magnify your life, change our map.....look around what else could you get involved in to help others and do good.....Develop a love centered map......that is a life where only love is sent out each day.
We were born to learn to love....God and everyone.  We did not come to earth to make a name for ourselves....just so time could erase it.  We didn't come to compile earthly goods for them to be parceled off and quibbled over after our death.  Love is more than our destination.  No short cuts to love...no detours.   Love is the destination and the journey.  My mother must have learned this early in her life as she is the only person I know who truly loved everyone UNCONDITIONALLY!
Just a thought:  They say love is the best feeling.....But, I think finding a toilet when your having diarrhea is better!
Pam and I picked up the twins at the airport......they had a fun two day break in LA....on business.....glad they had fun and are home safe.  A cold snowy weekend.....did get my bills made out  and mailed today as it is the first of FEBRUARY!
All the news is the 'SUPERBOWL" tomorrow and the Olympics at "Sochi Russia" Next weekend.  Cold and snowy