Bucket List

I don't even really have one.. but a post on one of the message boards I visit asked,
what are two things on your bucket list? Two things you would like to accomplish before you die.. Hence... "kick the bucket.."

I posted that I would like to visit the Netherlands, where my grandmother was born.
Another is to write my personal history. There are many things that I would like to know about my mother's side of the family, that I don't believe are written down. So, I don't want to leave my life in pieces for my children to pick up... that's assuming that SOMEDAY.. they will think I have been an interesting person.

What do you have on your list?

Can you guess?

What Mallory's favorite color has been this last few days?

I just had to giggle when I pulled these all out of the washer to hang to dry! (Yes, I'm trying to do my part to conserve energy, and not have such a high electric bill! )

So here is her variety of green shirts, and she may have more in her drawer! Guess Mom needs to do better when shopping!

On this Day, 38 years ago...

My Sweetheart was born!

He is the older boy here..

There aren't many pics of him as a boy, but he was a good big brother to Matt.. and obviously STRONG to pick up his mom!Can you pick him out here, in his senior picture? (btw.. it's hard to get the yearbook placed just right on the scanner!

And then.. he convinced me to marry him, and I'm glad that I did!

Mark, thanks for all that you do for me! I hope that you have a Happy Day!

Tjitske is Dutch for...

Jessica!!

Jessica is named for my grandmother Tjitske, Jessie to us common folk.. She was born in Holland, and my Jessica was born 11 years ago today! I will have to find some of her baby pictures this afternoon!

Oh, the joys of a preteen girl.. she is emotional, I hesitate to use the word drama queen, but...

I struggle with her, Mark says because we are too much alike, both headstrong.
Thanks alot my Dutch grandmother...

I love you, Jessica!

Not a member of the ASPCA...

Now, I am not normally one to encourage cruelty to animals.... but,
there is a little yappy thing, a chihuahua, or a rat terrier or something,
that lives behind me, that I would really like for it to have its vocal cords clipped.
It is really grating on my nerves this morning.
It's yapping echoes over the entire neighborhood.
Other than the sky-high electricity bills, it makes me look forward to summer when I can
shut my doors and windows to turn on the a/c and block out the sound!

Now, I will go turn on the tv, so I can't hear it, and eat my breakfast.

That is all.

I met WHEEZY!!

Last night I went to Borders at Superstition Springs, and met Lisa McMann, who is the author of a new teen book called Wake. I haven't read the book yet, so I can't give any reviews, but I had to go and meet her anyway!

For my non-OT friends, Lisa, aka Wheezy, is a former poster at Off Topic, which is part of a Reality TV message board where I occasionally post messages. I found the board when I started watching The Amazing Race, and eventually made my way to the Off Topic - where Lisa used to post. That is also what led me to blogging, as many of the posters there had blogs, and in order to comment, I needed to have a blog as well. Occasionally, these posters from around the country would have Peep Meets - meeting up when travelling around, and many have become good friends as a result, and I believe two marriages have come about, and consequent babies also.

I'm not terribly bold when it comes to arranging peep meets, as there had been a couple of posters here in the area, but this one was easy for me, simply go to the mall, and talk to Lisa for a few minutes! Anyway, it was exciting for me to meet her, although we didn't talk for long, it was fun!

Tagged by Robin!

Robin has tagged me, although I didn't find out until I read my neighbor's blog and then went back to hers!

1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages)

2. Turn to page 123

3. Find the 5th sentence

4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog

5. Tag 5 people

Okay, the nearest book to me is...

Fifth sentence.. "And it is wondeful training for the prospective power pilot : knowledge of air currents, landings when his motor has failed."

Wow, that was pretty boring! I picked up this book for 50 cents, I think, at the used book place just outside the library, I tried reading it, but it did get a little boring. I didn't know that she flew so many places with her husband! And, I didn't get to the end of the book. If anyone is interested in it, I'll send it to you.

Now, for the fun part... I tag... MTW, Nutz, and Silvergirl, (some of my OT friends) , Aileen S. and Heather R.

Have fun! (Hope your books are less boring than mine..

Whew!

It's found.. where I suspected it to be.. In B's bedroom. Such is the bedroom of a 13 yo boy.

He took something out to the freezer for me on Tuesday, and that's the last we saw of the key.
He told me that he checked all of his pockets - but I went in this afternoon and went thru his laundry basket myself.. and found it on the floor next to it. Well, he tried.

It's going to be a weekend of cleaning stuff up - we have a neighborhood exchange in a couple of weeks down at the church, and I am hoping someone will want some of the stuff that I have!

What in your house would YOU like to give away - or what do you need to get rid of?

Me? Mostly kids clothes that they have outgrown.. but also stuff from my parents house.. When my mom died, Dad sold the house, and he now lives in MN. A lot of stuff is now at my house, dishes, books, decorations.. that I really need to get rid of. My hubby always tells me how much STUFF we have.

Oh, and now I'm going to make peach pie with the peaches I found in the freezer!

WHERE IS IT??

Does anyone know where my freezer key is?

It's kind of hard to figure out what to get out for dinner

when I can't even look in the freezer...

So Long, Little Red Car

It's been a great 11.5 years. We bought this Taurus just before our family expanded to two kiddos. It has taken us on trips to Utah and California, but mostly was used as a commuter car.
A few years ago, someone stopped and asked if it was for sale... uh, no, I need it to get to work!!
Now that I have my new car, we don't need it anymore. I had meant to get a for sale sign on it, but didn't get there. Yesterday as we were fixing dinner after church, someone came to the door, interested in it. I talked with them, and they looked at it, but told them they had to come back, because I wouldn' t do business on Sunday.
So, they came after two this afternoon - handed me the cash and they drove off in my little car.. We got nearly 120k miles out of it - I think we got our money's worth! I got rear ended once in it - after M was born - but other than that - it's been a good car. But - I'm not sorry to see it go! So long, farewell, auf wiedersen, adieu!

It's Spring!!!

Well, in Arizona it is anyway!

Brennan and I planted tulip bulbs back in.. November maybe?

And here are some of the results!

I am excited to see them!

It is supposed to be 90 degrees today, but we're supposed to have a cooling trend coming along..

Oh, and I love the smell of Alyssum. Along with the few blossoms on my grapefruit tree, my yard is smelling pretty good, even though it doesn't look great!

Anyone else having spring weather??

Whew...saved by the.... receipt?

Note to self... again... don't procrastinate!!

On the previous episode of As the Toilet Flushes...

Well, the exhaust fan in our bathroom was not working.

No, not that kind of exhaust..

We had been having alot of moisture in our bathroom, and were wanting to
get a new fan, and have some other work done. So, I went out and bought
a new fan kit at my local home improvement store. I thought this had been done
only a few months ago.

Since we are on Spring Break, I thought I'd get up and try to take the motor out of
the fan above the toilet! It came out pretty easily! However, when I opened the box
of the new one, it was the WHOLE UNIT - that needed to be installed in the ceiling.
Not really what I needed. It turns out that the same fan is in my laundry room, so I
took that motor out and put it in my bathroom, so we have a fan working in there now.

My brother suggested that I see if I can find a replacement motor by calling the company
who made it! Turns out the company is located in Phoenix, and I was able to pick one up
at a nearby hardware store! I replaced that one in my laundry room, and then
determined to return the whole unit that I had purchased.

A trip to Home Depot - it wasn't their product, should try Lowe's. Finally today I made it
to Lowe's and found that I had the receipt still in my planner. I knew I'd saved it for a reason!
The helpful customer service person scanned the box, "this item has been discontinued." Then she continues to look at the receipt - "this is from Last Year!!" but then.. "let me see what I can do." She talked to the Higher Up Muckity Muck manager type guy, and he said if the scanner recognizes the receipt, then she can still refund it to me.

Well, Praise be to the Almighty Scanner!! It recognized it, so I got my $55 something returned to my account. Then I took a look at the receipt, to see how long ago I'd actually bought it...

Sad to say.. May 2007. For Pete's sake.. I really need to stop procrastinating.
Maybe tomorrow.

Do I get Great Mom points for this??

Sunday morning... what for breakfast?? I found some great looking strawberries at the grocery store last night... so how about this??

And I was thinking about a coffee (breakfast) cake that my mom used to make.. Royal Danish Kuchen... cinnamon and nutmeg in it, with raisens.. but the best part is the topping... cinnamon sugar and WALNUTS!! Yumm!

This has got to be better than boring old cereal, right?

I guess my Mallory thinks so... (even though I think this is the first time I ever dipped strawberries), looks like I am famous to her, and that's all I need!

TGFMB*

I honestly don't know what I'd do without it! How would I live??

I got my Bosch a few years ago, when it was on sale. This Concept 7 machine came with a blender, and a grater slicer attachment as well. I also make my bread in it about once a week.

When I was not working during Summer 2006, I ended up making a lot of bread, and selling to neighbors and friends. There were some kids who were coming around the neighborhood selling bread, and I figured I could sell my own. So I got a little more proficient at it. I use my Great Gramma Bloomer's bread recipe, which I got from my mom, so I feel like I'm doing something handed down.

I don't know how my mom made bread for years without one.. I'm sure with a family of 7, and not alot of money, she made plenty - I know she got a Bosch years later, but I'm not sure when. I do remember toast made from homemade bread - it just can't be beat!

Nevertheless, I do make alot in my Bosch - bread, cookies, crepes (in the blender) - I don't know that I'd bake as much without it!

For all those of you with Kitchenaids, come over from the dark side and get a BOSCH! They are the best!

*Thank Goodness For My Bosch!

A Grandpa story.

Not long ago, Lynne http://lynnewsnyder.blogspot.com/ posted about her grandpa, and chocolates. One of the stories I remember about my grandpa, was before I was born. I asked my dad to clarify a bit, because it's been awhile since I heard the story. We usually heard it every time we went to Wellington, but it's been awhile. My great grandmother lived there, and is buried there, along with my Grandma Rita.
In my Dad's words..
I was born in November, 1940, a year before Pearl Harbor and the beginning of World War II.
Vance was born in 1945, at the end of the war. Mom was “on again, off again” with my father during all those years of the forties and early fifties. She met and married Vance’s father, Walter Sullivan, in 1944/1945 sometime, and Vance came in September, 1945.

As long as I knew them my mother’s parents, Semon and Myrtle Golding lived in the little town of Wellington, Utah. Their little, two-bedroom home had the spacious yard and driveway, and corral, and behind the yard was a nice pasture, all common to homes in rural communities, especially in Utah. The pasture bordered on one of the Southern Pacific main railroad lines.

Their home was a refuge for Mom, and Vance and me, sometimes all three of us together and at other times, one or two of us. Mom was not successful in marriage, or in keeping a home for us to live in together.

Dad was always a cook, and in the navy during the war he was stationed at San Francisco, and his assignment was to ride the troop trains that carried troops back and forth between the coasts. As a cook, he had access to the supply cars of the trains.

The trains often used the line that went through Wellington, and passed behind the house. Food was short for everyone during the war, and well appreciated when it came, from whatever source.

This event must have been close to the end of the war, because I was old enough that I still remember it. The “folks” would all go down to the side of the tracks when Dad had phoned that he would be going through. When the train came Dad would have the side doors of the food supply car open, and whatever foodstuffs we needed, and would survive being tossed to the ground from a fast-moving train, he tossed.

The train came this day, and we waved to Dad as he passed, and he would kick the containers out the door. The stuff would be strewn along the side of the tracks for us to retrieve. What I remember is the bag of sugar, which was always in REALLY short supply, breaking open, with a cloud of the white stuff settling down in and on the black rock beside the tracks. I can still see the adults, and even me, bent over with fingers and utensils scooping what we could of the sugar into containers, so the precious white stuff could be saved.

I am the only one alive who would remember this story, because it was before Vance came, and all the folks are long gone from the world.

My kids didn't know my Grandpa McCabe - as he passed away shortly after Brennan was born. But, I hope to be able to keep him alive for them, in stories such as this.

And Lynne, if you can tell me how to put the link in with just your name.. inform me!!

Warning.. rambling ahead...

We moved to Evanston Wy when I was 15 - it was tough to move, I soooo wanted to attend High School in my old town, with all of my buddies. I'd watched the activities my older friends went to and I really wanted to go. But my dad was selling real estate, and he hoped to get in on the housing boom in WY.

I had worked in a coffee shop bussing tables and then waitressing, so I had some experience. I applied at JB's, and although the minimum age for working was supposed to be 16, Doug hired me anyway, since I had experience. I also looked older than my age so it helped. I worked at JB's all through high school, and with it being a fairly small town, I got to know lots of the regulars.

My mom was custodian for one of the church buildings in town, and she would see and talk to people as they came through the church during the week. That is where my mom met Bryan. I don't remember first meeting him, but he was a talker... he talked and talked - always had a story to tell. I waited on him plenty of times I'm sure, but he was 8 years older than me, so I don't think he ever asked me out, since I was still in high school. He was a nice guy, but I wasn't terribly attracted to him or anything. I did consider him a friend, however.

I graduated from HS, and went to the University of Wyoming, on an academic scholarship. The scholarship was a blessing, because I didn't have any money to go to school, nor did my parents.

I worked at the JB's in Laramie as well, and Doug was good enough to let me work when I was home on Christmas break and in the summer. After two years in college, my family moved to AZ. I went back to college in WY -(DH always teases me about that.. I was then in AZ in the hot summer, and in WY in the wintertime freezing - crazy!!) Since it was too far to go home for Thanksgiving, I caught a ride back to Evanston and stayed with my best friend, Tami. It was that year or the next that Bryan asked me out!

I don't remember how we stayed in touch, but we did! Bryan and I drove down to SLC, about a 80 mile drive and went to Crownburger. He had said it was "the " place to go. Then we went to Temple Square to see the lights turned on. This always happens the day after Thanksgiving. He held my hand for the first time there, mostly out of necessity, because there were alot of people there! However, it didn't send any electric shocks thru me or anything.

Bryan and I had been out once before, when he drove me to Ogden for Japanese food. I think it must have been before this- my memory escapes me! There was just not much to do in Evanston, that's why we had to leave town to go on a date!

Anyway, when we got back to Evanston from SLC, Bryan walked me up to Tami's door, and he kissed me. Um.. nothing. Like I said, I wasn't attracted to him really, but he was a nice guy. Again, no electricity happening. "Um, thanks for the date." We didn't go out again. But we were still friends. After I finished at UW, I wasn't back in Evanston regularly, so, I don't think I saw him again - so the last I would have seen him would have been 1988.

Fast forward a few years... When my mom passed away two years ago, I posted her obituary online in the Evanston paper, because we'd lived there 7 years, and I thought maybe people who had known her would like to know. Then in December, work was kicking my butt, and I was tired. I must have been away from home when Bryan called. Mark took a message and his phone number - said he'd seen the obit or something, and recalled my name, and tracked me down! His parents still live in Evanston, although he lives in St George now. It took awhile for me to find time to call him back, it was into January sometime. It was a little weird, but we talked for a little while. He kept telling me that I sounded like my mom, or that I looked like her, and kept bringing up memories of her.. meanwhile, I'm bawling away. My heart is still very tender missing my mom, so it kind of irritated me that he kept bringing her up! At that time, my face pain was hurting more with me getting emotional, so it was hard for me to talk to him! He left me with his email address and website (he's into real estate) but I hadn't emailed him, I hadn't thought too much about it again. He'd told me that he was back in Evanston more frequently with his mom being ill, and spending time with her in SLC as well at the hospital. And I thought that was the end of it.

Tonight.. Mark was working late, I'm trying to get the kids to finish their dinner, and the phone rang with a double ring, meaning it was long distance. Lately we've been getting more telemarketer stuff, so I almost didn't answer. The caller id showed a 435 area code, which I knew was UT, so I answered. It was Bryan. His mom had passed away last month, she was only 68. He saw my phone number on his cell and thought he'd call, knowing I could understand. We had a good talk... the kids finished their dinner and went out to fill up water balloons. (they are going to jump on the tramp at the neighbors with them on Sat.) Bryan and I talked for awhile - remembering the times we went out, and how we met and stuff - which is why I am writing it down. He is married and has 3 kids - I don't think I know his wife - I don't think she was from our town. He still always has a story to tell - I remember the names of people he mentions, but I probably know their younger siblings who were closer to my age.

All in all, I was glad to talk to him this time - I wasn't emotional, my face didn't hurt, and it was easy to talk! Not awkward at all - and no mention of the nonelectric hand holding or kiss! I got his email address again, maybe I'll keep in touch - in case I need to ever buy a cabin in the mountains near St George!

Thanks for indulging me.. I hope to write more stories, for my sake, and for Lynne's Somewhat Invented Life's sake... :-)

Happy Birthday Mallory!

It was Sunday, but I just want to wish my cutie youngest a Happy Birthday! I'm glad she came along to our family!

Anyone else heard of these FurBerries things?

It's All about Me!!

My Dad was quite the photographer around the time I was born - and my mother was very photogenic as well. So, there are plenty of pictures of us. I believe he won a prize for a photo of me and mom when I was only a few months old. To the right is my big brother and me! He was good and protective!






My first Christmas to the right, and I'm not sure how old to the left!













My youngest brother asleep in the high chair, I am probably 4 or 5 in this pic!

My hair was straight as a stick as a kid... it was to the point of waiting to take out the foam curlers until JUST before the pictures were taken, so that there would be SOME curl!










Yeah, it looks like curls.. but .. Yes, my mother made my dress.. but don't ya dig the beaded purse?






Fast forward a few years.. probably 7th grade here. My grandparents grew roses in their garden.. next to my wannabe Farrah Fawcett hair.

One of my favorite pictures from college.. wish I still had the sweater!!

Ack! Dig the big old bangs?? This was when I was about 22.. on my mission for the LDS church in England!

My four generations.. my son Brennan, my mother Nancy, and my grandmother Jessie (Tjitske) who was born in Holland.

And then my sweet Jessica, named after her great grandmother!



I'll need to get a pic of all of us.. I just love this one taken in my parent's backyard!


Just a few highlights of my life!
Happy Birthday to me!

(okay, and so my layout doesn't look so great... I'm working on it!!)

I could eat myself silly!!

With my birthday coming up, I'm getting emails with yummy invitations!

Cold Stone Creamery for a Love It creation!

Red Robin for a Gourmet Burger of my choice! (Mushroom Swiss burger, most likely!)Molly Branigan's for a Complimentary Entree (local Irish pub - yum!)

So, when will the feasting begin?

What is YOUR favorite place to go for your birthday?

This is me and my Mallory, and my little sis Laura. We got together to celebrate my mom's birthday last week. Not a great pic.. but oh, well.

Hannah, Montana, Bobana, Fofana...

If you ever need to get a preteen girl to help you do some dirty work? Let her bring her cd player and whatever music she wants and you will get a good chunk of time out of her!

When it rains here, I swear that there are weed seeds in every raindrop! And the fact that we have no grass in either the front or back yards means that shortly after the rain, the weeds start popping up.

In times past I have pulled them in the back yard myself, rather than fight with my children. Well, with the promise of a Sonic treat, I lured my girls into the back yard to pull weeds. So, we listened to Hannah Montana and Sugarland and cleared probably 75% of the green monsters! They are fairly easy to pull, so I promised dinner out if we kept going! Now we are just waiting for DH to finish work, and we'll go to Red Robin, and everyone will get shakes! (Usually I am a cheapo, maybe one shake gets shared..)

Happy Weekend, everyone!