I AM A SEENAGER.......

In one of those moods today......started out OK.....Patty called at 9:30 and had to escape her mad house and wanted to come for coffee.....I was not dressed, combed, barely had breakfast but COME!  She left and I showered and washed my hair and straightened the house up, even put a batch of laundry in.  Then decided to tackle my income tax......mistake.....can't find what I need, moving....selling a house.....buying a house etc......I don't know where to begin!!!! I have a feeling all the tax forms were not informed of my new address and who knows where they are?  wonder what would happen if I just ignored it this year????
        I was thinking....I am a Seenager.....you know a senior teenager.  I never worried about income tax when I was a teenager.......I now have everything that, I wanted as  teenager.....only 60 years later.
I don't have to go to school or work.
I get an allowance every month and have my own pad.......and I don't have a curfew.
 I have a drivers license and own my own car.
The people I hang around with aren't scared of getting PG and they do not use drugs.....and I don't have acne.   Life really is great......only I have to pay income tax!!!!!  I think I need to check on some sanity-preserving tactics for todays woman?

ON BEING A HOMEMAKER......

I figured this about covers everything you go through when you decided to be a Mother..........and then with the added duties of being a homemaker......only add to it.  Yes, I was a stay-at-home mom by choice and looking back over those years of raising three daughters....a single and a set of twins......I wouldn't change a day of  it..  I made it through and have three wonderful women with three great families, going through what I did .....or more.

'Here is a quiz;  What do you call the woman who does no child care but who cleans the house?  A cleaning woman.  What do you call the person who straightens the house and supervises the children?  A house keeper.  nd what do we call the woman who does child care but no housework?  A nanny......what do we call the one who does it all?  A nonworking mother."

When asked....."and what do you do?"  ......we usually respond that we are JUST mothers .....but if given a chance we could add;  That thaws hamburger in the dry cycle of the dishwasher, walks the dog, cleans the cat's litter box, plays cards with sick children and dress naked dolls or cuts out paper dolls or makes Christmas ornaments out of paper rings or popcorn.......and nurse a dead fern back to life! 

Combine the roles of cook, waitress, nurse, teacher, maid, chauffeur, psychologist, psychiatrist. doctor, and banker.....what do you get?  A mother!

With Mother's day coming up I wish my mother were still alive to thank her for the hundreds of wonderful things she taught me, did for me and put up with to raise me.....for those lucky enough to still have a mother......tell her thanks for not putting up for adoption in the teen years and still lovin' you.

BEING SINGLE........

 

As my 74th birthday is just a breath away.......I think I have found a new friend......someone I can relate to.....someone who thinks like I do!!!! MAXINE!  Being single and lonely is a condition shared by many my age......although you may prefer to be with others......being alone can over come you only if you let it.  Being single means a woman is capable of taking care of herself and coping on her own......When you first come out of marriage....(mine after 30 years).... you seem to feel your a severed half and have to work to become a complete person again.....can take up to five years! Think about the significant advantages of being single.......You can talk to yourself as much as you want......your cat or dog can sleep in your bed with you......You can bring home Sara Lee cake for two and each both portions......or drink a glass of wine and eat a bag of potato chips in bed while you watch.....what YOU want!  You learn to live in your todays instead of playing the old tune.....I'll be happy when.....all the whens are yours now!  So you have to get your own income tax ready each year, have the oil checked in your car and the tires rotated, balance your checkbook, buy mouse traps and spider spray, learn how to work the TV and Computer, change the furnace filters, pound nails, use the drill....bag the glue gun and I could go on and on with the little things some woman use their husbands for......BUT we know how to do it!  I do not like that song "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed".......though!

Pretty quiet day.....did go to Costco and fill up with their cheep gas and hem my neighbor's temple dress so not a complete loss.

EDUCATION........

CHURCH THIS MONTH IS ABOUT CHOICES AND CONSEQUENCES.......WE HAVE ALL BEEN OFFERED EDUCATION IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER.....HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE, ETC.

A MAN WAS OUT WALKING IN THE DESERT WHEN A VOICE SAID TO HIM....."PICK UP SOME PEBBLES AND PUT THEM IN YOUR POCKET, AND TOMORROW YOU WILL BE BOTH SORRY AND GLAD".......'THE MAN OBEYED.  HE STOOPED DOWN AND PICKED UP A HANDFUL OF PEBBLES AND PUT THEM IN HIS POCKET.  THE NEXT MORNING HE REACHED INTO HIS POCKET AND FOUND DIAMONDS, RUBIES AND EMERALS.  AND HE WAS BOTH GLAD AND SORRY.  GLAD THT HE HAD TAKEN SOME......SORRY HE HANDN"T TAKEN MORE"........AND SO IT IS WITH EDUCATION.

TODAY'S EDUCATION IS AS AVAILABLE TO YOU AS YOUR COMMITMENT TO IT. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT .....EDUCATION IS ABOUT THE ONLY THING LYING AROUND LOOSE IN THE WORLD, AND IT'S ABOUT THE ONLY THING A PERSON CAN HAVE AS MUCH OF AS HE IS WILLING TO HAUL AWAY......

WE SHOULD PROMISE OURSELVES TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY!  A NEW WORD AND IT'S MEANING.......A BETTER WAY TO INVEST OUR MONEY.....A NEW RULE FOR GOOD HEALTH.....A NEW TALENT, TO PAINT, SEW, KNIT ETC.  WE SHOULD NEVER STOP LEARNING!!!!

GOTTA BE PERFECT......

 

I guess being the oldest of five siblings......I was always expected to be perfect......to set an example for the four younger children to follow????  It was hard sometimes and probably went to my head when I was young.....but Oh if they could see me now!  I am far from being a perfectionist.....I would love to be the kind of woman who can wear a white sweater to lunch without spilling on it......who always has good hair days......and who never walked out of a restroom without toilet paper trailing from her shoe......but I am not!  If only everything in your life could be perfect but the bathroom scales?  I think at one time I really aimed for this......but all it got me was tired....and old.  I wanted perfect children and when they sat on Santa's lap I wanted them to say things like...."All I want for Christmas is world peace?"  I don't remember for sure when I stepped off the perfection treadmill but today my battle cry is ......"It's good enough!"  I really like the idea of good enough.....it's a good enough dinner or the house is clean enough....we can benefit by doing lots of things "good enough."

I just give myself credit for what I have accomplished....I am who I am.....not what I do.  Ironing for instance is just for women who get nervous about wrinkles.....I say "If Betty Crocker doesn't make it.....neither do I."

Every plant in my house has had several near-death experiences.....I forget. Once you get past perfection you can scotch tape a unraveled hem.......smash store-bought brownies so they look homemade......hide dishes in the oven when someone knocks.....send borderline flu cases to school....chop down a tree instead of canning the apples ....buy products that say "taste home made."    Oh I could go on, but you get the idea for just facing the fact that:......'IT IS WHAT IT IS!".....and I am happy not being perfect.

GUILT SPONGE......

Love a night out with my kids.......Movie and dinner are always a treat.  Had Relief Society teachers this morning and off to lunch with Pam at noon......It was windy and cloudy and suddenly turned into a blizzard.....by five the sun was shinning and the storm was over......UTAH WEATHER!!!!!

I was reading an article that made me think......Am I a Guilt Sponge up soaks up blame for anything that goes wrong in my life????  Why was I the only one to feel guilty when the kids were late to school or we ran out of toilet paper?  It seems guilt is the hardest emotion to deal with because it is so pervasive.   It is almost invisible, like smog.  We can always find something to feel guilty about if we don't begin our new diet today........if we throw away a pop can that could be recycled......if we think about all the cellulite we have built up, if we didn't call a sick friend or we miss church.  It seems the ultimate guilt is feeling guilty over feeling guilty......One woman said she felt guilty when she does the dishes, she felt she should be playing with the kids.......and when she played with the kids she felt guilty she wasn't getting her dishes done!......Can a woman ever win? 

Woman are trained in our culture to think they are responsible for other people's happiness......so when anybody is unhappy.....we automatically think it is our fault....our unearned guilt flows from the "should" and "oughts" of everyday living.......I should clean the house, I should lose weight, I should visit a sick friend and on and on ......You just "should" all over yourself but all you end up needing is a bigger shovel!

SO....as I continue my gratitude month......helps me not feel guilty......... I am greatful  for good dreams.....

I am greatful when I get something right the first time I do it.......

I am greatful when I have something fun to look forward to.......

The first day the weather is warm enough for sandals and white pants......

When I find a favorite movie on TV.........

ON DIFFERENCES.......

 

Had a great day.......Sherrie and Ken brought me lunch and Pam came by to for a visit with us.......Love and miss seeing my girls and grandchildren.....but glad they are busy and happy!  Sherrie called and was cloud nine......they had 3 cars to drive to Vernal from the auction and Darren had to fly the airplane home.......sooooo Alex, Ken and Sherrie all climbed in one and took off and were in Roosevelt .....which is almost home......and Ken had done fine.  Now you have to know Ken and his problem with driving even the main road in Vernal has taken awhile to convince him he can do it.....so it was a huge leap he made today!!!!!

How can we all be the same.....but different?  But we are and I guess that is what makes the world go round.....My view is not the same as yours......but that is okay.  'To disagree, one doesn't have to be disagreeable"  (Barry Goldwater)

'No two persons ever read the same book" (Edmund Wilson)......that is so true, or see the same movie or witness the same car accident.......we all come from a different place and interpret things our way.......   Two people standing on the corner can witness the same accident and have two completely different versions of it.

"We all live under the same sky, but we don't have the same horizon."      (Konrad Adenauer}

"No two men are alike and both are happy for it"      (Morris Mandel)

"Some people march to a different drummer.....and some people polka."

Being different isn't a bad thing....in fact it is a very good thing.  Wouldn't life be boring if all 4 or 5 or whatever of your children were all exactly the same.....or every boy you ever went out with was exactly the same, or every teacher you ever had was the same etc.......even my identical twin girls are not the same......of which they are very happy for and I am too!

WHAT AM I GRATEFUL FOR TODAY????

I have traveled a lot and I was always thankful when finally arriving at my destination after a long journey.....

I am always thankful when people enjoy the food I make......because cooking stresses me out......

I am always thankful when my favorite store has sales.......

I am always thankful when a public restroom is clean when I am forced to use one.......

I am thankful for my pet's excitement when I come home from somewhere........

 

 

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY....

 

Well here we are kissing Christmas and New Year's 2016 good-by and wishing everyone Happy Valentine's Day.  Off to church this morning and the neighbors invited me to dinner in a couple of hours.  Talked to Sher, but been pretty quiet other wise.  I always liked Valentine's day when the girls were growing up.....making lists for school and fancy boxes to put your Valentines in......miss those days.

But I was thinking........do sometimes......I use to be the mother of 3 girls, but now days at 73 I seem to have 3 mothers!

'Your almost 74 Mother .....your too old to be gallivanting around all over the place....."

"Wake me up when you come home because you know I can't sleep a wink until you're home?"

'If you don't start coming home at an earlier hour.....I'm going to ground you."

"Don't wear that......it makes you look old".....Duh

'Is your cell phone turned up as loud as it can be.....you never answer it".....Thing is my cell phone is usually dead, left home or face it ......I'm getting a little deaf.

I guess it is just that time in life....."when what goes round comes round."  It really is nice to know someone cares about you.......and they probably heard most of that from me when they were young.

ON COMPARING.......

 

Well, here we are with another weekend upon us......Not doing much today in way of accomplishments......the sun is shining and it is pretty outside......but I just can't seem to get with it.  Talked to Sherrie and Leslie and that always helps me through the day......Sherrie has been so sick with a virus, but said today was better.....but now Ken is getting it!

Pam in Idaho for the weekend......saw on face book they couldn't get Rob's truck to shut off for 1/2 hour, the house is leaking and the big dog had eaten some mice poisoning......sounds like her weekend has started off fun!

I saw an article about how woman are always comparing themselves to other woman????  Yes, that happens.  It seems women often feel that their appearance makes a presentation to the world, and they compare themselves to other woman who are also making presentations........We compare characteristics in ourselves to the random and enviable characteristics of any woman who crosses our path......then go on comparing our insides, our hidden faults and flaws......with other women's outsides.......face it, we can always find someone who is thinner, brighter, richer and more organized than we are.....comparing ourselves with others is disrespectful to ourselves......"Probably no habit chips away at our self-confidence quite so effectively as that of scanning the people around us to see how we compare."  As Billy Graham put it....."Since God made us to be originals, why stoop to be a copy?"

We woman have got to quit comparing ourselves with anyone else.......We need to measure ourselves on what we have done, what we are doing and what we can do.....Let what you do today compete with and surpass what you did yesterday.  ......just remember we are the best of the best,,,,,just the way we are.

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW........

FROM I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW

"As I look back over my life.....it is not a far reach for me to conclude that there is some  kind of a plan that is always at work, even if it is largely unknown as it unfolds.  It is also not a far reach for me to conclude that this plan is being directed by the same force that keeps the planets aligned, opens the buds of the flowers, and gives

life to all manner of creation here and everywhere else in the world.

Examine the major turning points in your life and look carefully at all of the so-called coincidences that had to arise in order for you to shift directions.  At that moment that you think of as a coincidence, you had a free will and you made a choice.....At that same moment there was something much bigger than you, something you're always connected to, that was also at play......That "something"........ was setting up the details so that you could fulfil the purpose you signed up for when you made the leap from Spirit to form......from nowhere, to now here."  Kinda gives you something to think about.

WHAT AM I GREATFUL FOR TODAY?

A wonderful daughter that took me to lunch for VALENTINE'S DAY......and gave me flowers.

A great neighbor who couldn't get ahold of me and was worried so knocked on my door to check.

Finishing a really good book.....and liking the ending.

Sleeping on freshly washed sheet and clean jamies.

Sitting in the warm sun of your front room and feeling the sun on your face......

COURAGE IS GRACE UNDER PRESSURE......

     It's one of those...... what goes round' comes round' kinda things......or you get what you give.....or you reap what you sow, but sometimes you don't realize it ......until it is too late.  Setbacks make us stronger, mistakes make us smarter and disappointments make us even more determined......we need to realize every thing we have experienced has made us the amazing person we are and has prepared us for the next step in our lives......I watch what two of my dear friends are going through with health and that of sick husbands and hope they realize they are becoming stronger every day.
                     'TIME DOES NOT HEAL ANYTHING......IT JUST TEACHES US TO LIVE WITH THE PAIN."
         Met Shirley for lunch and saw a good movie by Nicolas Sparks.....what am I thankful for today?
      When someone genuinely asks you how your day was.....
      Finally eating the food you have been craving.....(Chinese)......
      Looking at all my old photographs and remembering some wonderful times with family......
      Making new friends in my neighborhood......
      Hopefully being a model to my grandchildren......

COULD HAPPEN TO ME.....OR YOU?

Well here we are a week into the New Year and I am still thinking about starting a diet of some kind!!!  I am sure everyone's doctor now and then suggests we join an aerobics class for seniors.......I can see it now......we bend, we twist, gyrate and jump up and down an perspire for an hour......and finally get into our leotards......AND BY THEN THE CLASS IS OVER!

Oh well......they are having all their winter sales so just buy a bigger size.

My sweet Tiff and Scott and Aaron came by to check out my new phone.....Sherrie said it was using too much.....something.....I didn't understand it all, but I only had used 1.3 gigabites of something so someone else on their family home line are the busy ones......now I didn't understand a thing I said so no one else probably will either.  Anyway fun seeing how the baby has grown and he loved my dog and has a head full of blond curls and walks everywhere.  It really made my day......and Scott put new light bulbs in my laundry room as they had all burned out.   A bonus.  Went to church.....do not like the new 9;00 starting session though......Will probably not watch the Super Bowl Game tonight!

Let's see ......what 5 things am I greatful for today;

Having a sweet granddaughter and family stop by and visit......and fix a few things.

Taking off your shoes and socks after a long day

Overhearing someone say nice things about you......

Being told you are appreciated and loved.......

Changing into pajamas after a long busy day.......especially now, it gets dark so early.

 

DON'T WAIT.......

 

Ever have anyone just walk out of your life.......your husband, a child, best friends?  It really hurts, but then God has a way of helping you go on with your life......with lots of other good things happening for you.

Don't wait for things to get better.....Life will always be complicated.  Learn to be happy right where you are now, otherwise you'll run out of time.

It's never too late to be what you want to be.......Unless you want to be younger ......then you are screwed!!!!

AND WHAT AM I GREATFUL FOR TODAY?

When a friend calls and tells you they enjoyed something you recommended.......

A full fridge after grocery shopping......and it is all put away...........

Sleeping in your own bed after you have been away a week or more......OH YES!

Hearing an old song you use to love.....and all the good memories it brings back.

Greatful for my nice big shower with lots of hot water and that good clean feeling after your done......

Still Winter here......Super Bowl Game Tomorrow.

OLDER EVERY DAY......

       My sister quietly confided in me that she was having an affair.......
      I ask her ......"Are you having it catered?"
      The look I got could kill......
      And that my friend is getting "old".......I guess an affair to some, is one thing and to another, something else.
My friend and I had an interesting day......went to Dave's Health and Food place......I was interested in learning about the "OILS" of old .......and she was interested in learning about protecting her home from witchcraft!  Old people are strange????  Found a great book to tell me what oils are good to rub on what for what reason and a starter kit of oils. Sherrie and her neighbors are having great luck with different oils for different treatments......Shirley found all kinds of stones and shamans to protect her......I think?
Then my cousin told me about a Chinese Mall.....live here, never heard of it so off we went to check it out......wow, a market you would not believe......strange things every where and the live fish and octopus and chicken feet and ......well I felt I was wandering around a store in Hong Kong again.  We stopped and had a fun lunch and I will be going back there again when I feel adventurous......
    I have decided I need to list 5 things each day that I have gratitude for like you know .......just little things that really count but are over looked like;  A compliment from a stranger......Going to bed and knowing you can sleep as long as you want.......Or getting up early and watching the sun rise......remembering the smell of fresh baked bread when you were young......or finding something you thought you had lost!  I am greatful for these things....

IN THE END........

          Elder Boyd Packer said;    "It was meant to be that life would be a challenge.  To suffer some anxiety, some depression, even some failure is normal......If you have a good, miserable day once in awhile......or several in a row......stand steady and face them.  Things will straighten out.  There is great purpose in our struggle in life."  The only thing that keeps me going is to hear all the struggles of my dear friends......and most are way more bad than mine.....we get together and compare and are able to laugh now then.....that is why it is so important to have good friends.  Sometimes families don't understand......but good friends always do.  
       COLD day......colored my hair and did not venture out today.  Talked to Sher and to Lucille and they are always such a comfort......will be venturing out tomorrow.....need some retail therapy.  Been a pretty quiet week.....Patty and Ruth were here for lunch Wednesday.......they have BIG problems compared to mine.   Had a great date with my darling son-in-law Tuesday......dinner and a movie.......thank you Robby!  Pam still in Idaho baby sitting friends children. 
      Well, seems I only get to my computer every two or three days......where does the time go?

RANDOM COMPLIMENT GIVING.......

 

WOW.......what a cold windy day......snow blowing and drifting everywhere.......I didn't want to venture out on the icey roads but my cute friend Patty came by for coffee and saved my day......I have been house bound for 3 days now! I may have  to snow shoe out tomorrow......but I'm off to pay bills one way or another.........I REALLY DO HATE WINTER......

I was just thinking......how do you feel when someone you have never seen before......gives you a compliment?  It's a good feeling for you and it is also a good feeling for the person giving it.  Life is hard.....and this world can be a shitty place.  You never know  how much these words mean to someone........ you never know the miserable life they maybe going through and when you put positivity out there into the Universe.....YOU,  yourself become a happier person.  "Random Compliment Giving"......will change your life......and maybe some one else too.  It costs you nothing to say....."you look so pretty today" or "that really looks good on you" or whatever.  DO IT!

Well, guess I will go watch the Iowa Cacasus and let them put me to sleep........