KOREAN FRIENDS.....

I told you we had a fun korean family spend the weekend with us a couple of weeks ago.....Got some pictures of the cute family....this is Dad and the three boys.....Mom taking picture I guess.  We are enjoying a wonderful Korean dinner prepared by them the last night......

MY FAMILY......

Just thinking.....who do you go to when you need love and support......your blood family!

This is my only brother....Jim and the only sister I have left.....Leslie.  Who comforts me the most in my old age.....people of my same blood.....my first family.....they have known me all their lives and we come from the same family tree.....you can tell them anything and you can cry......or swear.....or be happy and they love you all the same.....How lucky I am.....they don't judge nor do I.....just love them because.........I am their family.....Yes.....I love my three daughters and the grandchildren.....but do they really know me or where I come from....NO!  To them I am Mom or grandma.....and they entered a later chapter in my life.....I love you Jim and Les and thank you for always being there for me........

OH MY....

This could be me.....I think I have tried everything and done every thing that I wanted to do in life......There are a few places I didn't visit on the planet I wish I could have.....but so thankful I have been and done so much in my life......My goals started early...Be a Cheerleader in high school... Go to college........Be a stewardess.....Get married and have three wonderful daughters....Travel agent which lead to traveling he world....Concerige....Play bridge and have fun friends and 9 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.....what more could a person want......not rich.....not famous....just me....enjoying each day......never forgetting the my wonderful parents and my humble beginning and thankful for every day of my almost 88 years.

I THINK I NEED......

Did you ever wish you had a little help here and there......now and then....and yet know you can do it all yourself......if you just got in gear?  If you depend on others for everything.....then you become incapable of taking care of yourself and you dread the day that happens......

Sherrie came in today to have cancer cut out of her cheek......she didn't think I needed to go with her....BUT that is what mothers do.....Darren had to take his father up to the University Hospital to be checked for colon cancer and maybe stomach cancer....we are very worried about BUD......Sherrie's was caught early and does not seem to be a big problem......thank goodness.   We left Ken here to tend the two dogs and take Libby to lunch....they are good friends.....Every day tell your family and friends you love them.....Kobe Bryant....for instance......Leslie just called and that always makes my day.......sisters are the MOST.......love ya Les.

AND ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!

Somewhere under those masks is my fifth grandson....Richard Benjamine Cook..... who is in Aspen, Colo. and ask Anna to marry him .....and she said YES!  Surprised....No.....they have been treaveling the world together and it was inevitable......and we are all very happy for them.  They plan a summer wedding before baby brother Scottie leaves on a mission.  She is not LDS which does not make mom and dad too happy.....but love her anyway!  So do I......

SMILE IMPORTANT......

It would be easy now days to let the world change our smiles and happy feelings in life.......BUT we have to be strong and let our smiles change the world.....I love to smile at someone in the grocery store or gas station.....for no reason.....or at a small child to see if they will smile back......I do not know what problems they are struggling with.....money...health....relationship problems......life is not easy for any of us....BUT a smile.....maybe a hug.....I love hugs or a compliment can do wonders for a person's day.....I am old.....slow.....and not as much fun as I use to be....but I still  need smiles, hugs and compliments to keep me going.  My cute 40 year old neighbor Honh.....who is Vietamanese is always there with "i LOVE YOU"....she needs me.....I need her.....YES....these are just words....but they are some of the words that help us keep going.....My neighbors are the greatest for this.....You ok.....need any thing.... etc.  I am truley blessed with where I am and who I have around me and I hope I can worthy of it!!!! 

I AM SO LUCKY.......

I am so lucky to have these two people in my life......Pam my oldest daughter and her husband Robby. Here they are at the hot air balloon festival in Mesquite.....which they do every year....and invited me to go...but my bed and high toilet and do nothing schedule.....won out and I stayed home....Saturday I went to lunch and a movie..."LITTLE WOMEN"....with Bray and Lib....nice Saturday just hanging out,  that is about all I am up to anymore.   Today Stake Conference....dinner and a nap....that is what Sundays are for.  Sad news Kobe Bryant of the Lakers and his 13 year old daughter were killed in a helicoper crash today....so sad......Life is so uncertain....enjoy every moment!

HANDSOME......

This is my grandson Brayden......my rock!

As I look back over my life and remember the men in my life who have been my rocks...there was my Dad who was always there for me from day one....Dick Yeomans.....then my brother Jim Yeomans.....who I never doubted if I ask for something he would try and make it happen......AND then you get to the next generation and My Brayden calls....checks....and goes out of his way to help my life go smooth.  He is a tender caring person and it seems to me the older he gets .....the more handsome he is.   Thank you God for giving me Brayden.......he is good from the inside out!!!!

TRAVINGERS.....

THE BILL TRAVINGERS....granddaughter, husband and great-grandson.....
Such a cute family.....always on the move....Bill teaching at the college and for a couple of months.....being "MR MOM" on maternity leave.  Nicci had five months and has now gone back to work and Bill is taking his three months and his turn.....and lovin it!....Who would not love hanging with this cute Tucker kid?  Bill and Nicci both work for Microsoft and love Seattle.

GRIEF.....

We have all lost love ones.....either by death....divorce or those who choose not to be in your life any more.......

You cry....you hurt and feel bad....and endure...Grief is not a task to finish and just move on.....you never move on from lossing your Mom and Dad...and then two sweet little sisters.....not to mention a mate of 30 years and then a daughter who just dropped out of your life......You can ask yourself "why" a dozen times......and never come up with an answer.  I guess it is just part of  life.....and we go on because we have others who need us.....You can get angry....cry....scream and yell....and sometimes this is part of handling grief.....but it does not change the hurt of loss.  Some people just push it deep inside and try to find someone to blame......and hate life.....The dead would not wish this upon you.....and the living could care less how you feel.  So.....suck it up 'CUPCAKE" and know your not alone in your hurt.

MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY......

Such a good message......I know in my travels around the world......I have thought many times about the people I have trusted my life with???  But  did I ever stop and think about God really being in charge of my life...NO......But now I realize all this time I had nothing to worry about.....

Big holiday around the country today....Libby did not have school.....no mail and the banks are closed......I did go get my nails done this afternoon and Patty came over for coffee this morning.  We had a lot of catching up to do and she is always good for a few laughs....which I always need,  Tomorrow is Mexican Train Day and Wednesday bridge and then we see another week slip by and the month rushing with it.....suppose to be bad weather starting on Wednesday.  The Christensons are in Hawaii....and haven't heard from the other two families......thankgoodness for neighbors....

MY BODY KNOWS....

Yes...My body is well aware of how old I am with 88 breathing down my neck....I can hardly get out of bed in the morning.....or get up from a chair when I sit too long? It has a way of reminding me often..... But...in my mind I am still middle age wanting to shop, party, dress up and live it up.....but the two are not working it out very well.  I dye my hair and the wrinkles have not completely taken over....yes to glasses and part time hearing aid....so not completely over the hill...I love stores that have baskets to push and lean on and YES....I still am a good driver....These cold winter months keep me in some.....quite a bit....hate the cold and am afraid of falling and breaking a bone at this age.  I thank God every day for the gift of one more day to enjoy my good life....I realize we have no waranties on our parts and as we age they wear out....but I will take every day God gives me and take two tylanol and be happy to be alive....my mother only had 58 years and dad 75 years.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY....LITTLE SISTER

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LESLIE..

I feel really sorry for people who do not have a sister or sisters....I was very lucky and had three sisters.....two of them have passed away and I am so lucky to have Les.  We phone to each other two or three times a week and she is my "GO TO"...when I am lonesome, bored  or frustrated......and always makes me feel better.  We still have a little brother that has become more part of life in our later years....I was very blessed to have the parents and siblings I have had in my life....they have made me...."me".

JANUARY......

 A day late with this message......but I liked the lines....".God did not make you to fit in....he made you to stand out!".....We are all the same...but different and that is what makes us so special.....I have never felt I was special.....but now I realize I am to certain people and in certain areas of my life....I like that thought......and when I get down on myself I will remember God made me ....me....for special reasons.....and keep progressing in the years I have left.  

Went to the Dr yesterday for a checkup on my cancer and things looked OK.....and will start a new pill and hope for more positive results with this one.  Pam took me in and we had lunch and a nice visit before.....I have wonderful girls.

NOT A WASTE OF TIME.......

I have this little routine......up....eventually.....every morning....coffee and toast and an hour of playing games on my I pad.......then face the day!!!

I have to admit I feel a little guilty wasting that time..until I read......Mayo Clinic researchers say you'l cut your chances of memory losses by 42% !!!!!!  They say that fun screen time encourages the body to release an energizing brain chemical called acetylcholine.....

Also....British rsearchers found that socializing for just 10 minutes a day...whether you meet up or just phone a friend or sister......cuts your risk of age-related memory loss in half and boosts your focus by 50%.....that is bcause sharing conversations act as a workout for your mind's memory and language centers...... and helps grow healthy new brain cells.s..WOW....I'll be phoning my sister every day?????  I just love learning all this good STUFF!

TODAYS FORCAST

Well....we made it to Monday......after a very busy weekend.......my cute roommates invited a family of Koreans for the weekend.......?????  A mom and a dad and three very busy little boys.....about 6 - 8 - 10......mom did not speak much English but the kids and dad did.   They came to A merica for 2 years and were working in Texas....where my kids met them.....It snowed and they loved building a snow man on my patio and sleigh riding on the hill by the play ground.....Sunday they went to church with Libby and Brayden then off to ASIAN City to buy food so they could cook us a typical Korean dinner....We  played games and ate a lot.......Such a nice experience and I am so glad I had a house they felt comfortable in.....

Today I struggled through doing laundry and putting the house back together.....and a nice long nap.  The high of the weekend.....Brayden put a automatic blind on my high window.....Love it!

BE NICE......

If someone calls you ugly.....Response.....Excuse me ...I am not a mirror!

Don't you hate it when a guest asks if you have a bathroom......."NO.... we pee in the yard?"

Finally found out what is wrong with my brain.....On the left side...there is nothing right and on the right side there is nothing left.....

It is a cold and snowy Saturday......was going to a movie but did a few chores instead and headed home in the snow for a nap.   Libby and Brayden are entertaining their Korean family friends who will spend a couple of nites with us...their friends from Texas.

It is one of those days when you feel you should clean the house....but you lay down and take a nap until that feeling passes.  Got my hair colored and cut yesterday....feels much better.

I KNEW THAT!

I always loved Leap Year growing up because we got to invite your favorite boy to the Saddie Hopkins dance !!!!!!

BUT that was many years ago when I was free....white.....and 16!....But now I am just counting the days one by one and maybe the minutes and hours?.....who knows?  I intend to enjoy this year...no matter what.  Went and got my hair colored and cut and went to the bank today....my original plan was a  movie and the grocery store.....BE  flexible Betty......snowed last night and suppose to again tonight.....my kids are off doing something with Libby's mission companion who is moving to CA AND  I guess I won't see them till morning.....Then a family of Koreans are coming from Texas for the weekend.....always enjoy  entertaining foreign people...... they want to play in the snow......the kids met them when they lived in Texas.....a couple and three boys.......for two nights.....and so another weekend is planned!

LIFE TOO SHORT....

I have always enjoyed life.....as a young person.....my friends and I could always come up with some thing fun to do.....in college....life was fun and busy and so on in my life.......

It can seem like success is a selective club or an exclusive show with limited seating....but it absolutely is not:  We can not let self doubt stand in the way of doing and being the best of the best....that we can be....I set goals in my life and look back and see how many I accomplished bcause I believed I could....cheer leader....stewardess....mother and wife....later i wanted to be a Conceirge...and I did.....or a volunteer in the Rape Crisis Center .....on the crisis line and as a public

speaker.....then could I speak on a Crusie Ship?  Yes, I found a way to make that happen...Just a couple of times...but I DID!.....As the years have passed....I have slowed down.....my hearts in it,,,,but my poor old body is giving out.....But as Nicci and I have the motto......STILL SASSY, CLASSY AND KICKEN ASSEY!

JUST LAUGH IF OFF.......

I alway kinda thought this is what I would look like when I got old.......and I do sorta!  So I guess I am old?.....

I read where laughing has many healthy benefits....so find fun friends to laugh with and  laugh at yourself......a lot! One......laughing eases aches ad pains.  A recent UCLA study found that after reading cartoons or watching funny shows, sick people's pain tolerance dramatically increased....cutting aches by 50% for several hours.  Researchers explain that laughter prods the brain to produce painkilling opiates.....TWO.......Boosts energy!  Well.....this I hope is true......"Laughter eases tension and fatigue by significantly reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol".......Laughng also boosts energy levels by 75%......THREE....Aids weight loss! Laughing uses  up to 20% more energy.....This means that 10 to 15 minutes of laughter a day could burn off up to 40 extra calories each time.....I have to get on this laughter routine????  I do prefer funny movies to sad ones....

Did a few chores...but no energy......

WHAT EVER.....

So a new year is upon me....2020 and I am sure it is not goingTh to improve my mirror image????

I did lose 20 lbs last year....in my face and boobs.....but hey, that is better than nothing.  My sweet sister gave me a Chirsttmas shirt that was a Medium.....well I dreaded trying it on....BUT it fits and I have it on today.....why am I still buying XLRG in everything?  I guess just to be sure...maybe I need to buy a scales?

Week shaping up to be busy.....tomorrow coffee at Patty's and Wednesday Shirley called and said ...."Let's do a movie and lunch".....Then Thursday it is suppose to snow again....our snows have melted by noon....so no concern......And rapidly we move thru January 2020 and closer to my 88th birthday....Yea!  How can getting old be so good......HAVING GREAT FAMILY AND FRIENDS.....THAT IS HOW!

2020 LEAP YEAR.....

And I second the motion above!!!

Weekend flew by....was clear but cold......Went to  church....took a nap....not crazy about this 9:00 church....but once I am there....I enjoy......then Sher and Ken popped in about three...fun visit and dinner done by Libby.  Everyone very tired so to bed early.....Libby and Bray off very early....the rest not so much......Sher had a dermatalogist  (early) appointment......so Ken helped me finish taking down the Christmas decorations.....tree....front yard stuff and odds and ends......House sure looks bare.....but back to normal..

Brayden installed my new door bell where I see who is there and can talk to them........As we worked on it.....I discovered my two neighbors visiting on their front porch and commented on it.....they laughed and said they could hear every thing I was saying....GUESS I better learn where the OFF button is?????  I love it....I can look at my phone and if they interrupt my Dr Phil hour.....I can just tell them to come back at five!!!

HAPPY LEAP YEAR!

CANNOT GET STARTED......

Have you ever felt like this????  I slept till 9:00....because I could.  The kids are at the cabin for the weekend....some kind of retreat for libby's school class.  It is cold outside and I cannot think of one thing I need to go buy,,,,Sherrie filled my fridge full of soup....so I am set.  I did work on taking down the Christmas decorations....but they are all in the hall....soooo tomorrow try and find a place in the garage for them for another year!  I do a few things and then REST......and this goes on all day.  Why does getting old do this to you?  No energy....arthritis in very joint..... high blood pressure....dry eyes.....bad knees....so cannot get up or down very easy....why does none of this show?   So the kids and friends look at you and you look the same....if they only knew what was happening.....UNSEEN!

I am accepting it as best I can....after all these poor legs, knees and feet have served me well these all most 88 years.  In my youth I danced a million miles...later as I traveled the world I walked a million miles....soooo nothing lasts forever....and the MEMORIES I have are wonderful.....

Leslie called and Kevin's back operation went well...she was in Flagstaff.

I STARTED THIS.....

The Betty Peterson Bunch!

I can't believe me..... a little country girl....grew up and went to college, was an airline stewardess, married a pilot and had a baby.....and then two more and those three babies grew up and got married and each had three babies....and NOW the three granddaughters have given me four great-grandbabies.....and so goes families......

Been  7 or 8 years since we were all under the same roof at the same time.....three of the boys went on two years missions and Nicci has always lived far away and couldn't come home...BUT they all made it for breakfast a couple of days before Christmas.....so happy......2020!

LEARNING ONE STEP AT A TIME LEADES YOU TO WHERE YOU NEED TO BE.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020......

Well.....2020 is upon us......and it seems to be the same old...same old stuff on TV.  people shooting up churches.....Iran flaring up...Trump being blamed for everything from your flat tire to your constipation.....BUT, I look forward to this year.....so many things I still want to do in this life....and so little time left.  It takes me longer to do everything now days.....and I love just hanging out at home or coffee with Patty....lunch with Pam or Shirley and fun phone calls from Sherrie and Leslie....Wonderful neighbors are a bonus.
Last night.....New Years Eve.....the Christensons surprised us with a sleep-over.   It was snowy and cold and got late and they didn't want the snowmobile ride in the dark to the cabin.    We drank bubbly and ate up a lot of snacks and played Mexican Train till the ball dropped in New York....fun  surprise.  Today I made out bills.....did laundry and now almost Dr. Phil time.  Snowed quite a bit last night....but melting off now....so Happy New Year.....