Another wedding pic..

It's the only one we have of this - it was tough to scan from the album, but one of my favorites!

Here's where it started..

Tagged by Kaja..

1. WHAT DATE IS YOUR ANNIVERSARY? August 1

2. WHERE DID YOU GET MARRIED? Mesa Arizona Temple

3. WHO PROPOSED AND HOW? Mark originally proposed in January, but due to some extenuating circumstances, we were officially engaged for real, in April.

4. HOW LONG WERE YOU ENGAGED? Around 3 months

5. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR WEDDING DAY? (AND IT CAN'T BE YOUR HUSBAND) . I spent the night at my friend Leisa's house, who lived across the street from the temple. So it was fun spending time with her!

6. WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE IF YOU COULD? I'd make it not in August when it was so stinking hot!

8. REMEMBER ANYTHING SPECIAL ABOUT YOUR WEDDING CEREMONY? Not really, (it's been so long..) ..kissing him!

9. WHERE YOU CLEAN OR MESSY WHEN YOU CUT YOUR CAKE? Clean, if I remember correctly!

10. WHERE DID YOU GO ON YOUR HONEYMOON? Here's where the story is.. We left Phoenix in August in a car with no air conditioning. We drove across the desert to Las Vegas with a gallon of water to drink.. no rest stops. We stayed one night in Vegas, spending only a few dollars on nickel slots, not winning anything. Then drove up to UT and stayed in the basement of his brother's house. We went to Lagoon, an amusement park, and I think mostly visited family and friends the rest of the time! But, hey, we were together!

Anyone else who is willing to share, consider yourself tagged...

My invention would be...

This summer I have decided we need a new invention.
It wouldn't really be much.
Actually two versions...

A towel that talks? or a towel with legs!!

We came home from our trip away with what I think was nearly every towel in the kids bathroom dirty.. .let me rephrase that... WET! They went swimming plenty, and I think that
they used every towel possible, instead of hanging them to dry, and then reusing them.

SO.. I suggest that towels be made with legs, so that they can take themselves to the clothesline, or else to the Laundry basket.. OR.. that they be talking towels, so that when they are dropped on the floor by unsuspecting children, they shout out "PICK ME UP" or "HANG ME UP"! Wouldn't that save ME from doing so??

Or? if they made them both talking and walking? Then they could follow the children around shouting at them UNTIL they picked them up!! Sound good??

Update..!

So, even though I went away for the weekend, through the airport with Cinnabon, Cold Stone Creamery, TCBY, CPK, Burger King, and ate out for 2+ days, I still lost weight!

Yeay Me!!

I actually lost 6.8 lbs! The last time I've lost weight is due to my trigeminal Neuralgia.. when my face is hurting, I can't eat.. so I lose weight. Now that my pain isn't so much, I'd been munching again, and so put much of it back on.

I made a conscious decision to make better choices. But even though I had two (yes.. two) Bear Claws this weekend at St Louis Bread Company (aka Panera) I still lost. And I also had frozen custard from Ted Drewe's. (oh, my, that was good!)

And here are a couple of cool pics (at least I think so..)

We didn't go up into the arch, as the lines were too long... didn't have and hour and a half to wait. So we drove, and drove, and drove! There are so many cool neighborhoods, kinds that we don't see out here in the desert!

Okay... I'm committed.

Weight Watchers.

Stop Dieting.

Start Living.

Or so they say. I'm going to start an At Work program. If I lose 5 lbs over the eight weeks, my company will give me back half of the fees I paid. I figure I can do that.

So, here I go... starting to be healthy.
Aren't I doing great. (after I finish my Dr Pepper on the table.)

YUM!!!

My friend Tara is a graduate of the Scottsdale Culinary Institute, so she knows how to make all kinds of YUMMY stuff! Every now and again we have a little mini class with her, and she teaches us how to make something! On Tuesday we made cream horns!

Wrapping strips of Puff pastry carefully..

Then an egg wash and some chunky sugar..

We can smell them baking...

Fill them with chocolate whipping cream/pudding

mixtures, or strawberry whipping cream..

And VOILA!! Cream Horns!

Tara dolled up the one below- she's good like that!

We had lots of fun! We delivered a few to some friends and

neighbors nearby! Thanks again Tara for an awesome afternoon!

Whew!

Made it through another week. (Guess it's been more than one since I blogged last.)

There were no knock-down drag-out fights between my children while I was gone to work. (thankfully).

I don't want to quit my job - I enjoy the extra income, and the interaction with adults. But.. if the kids can't get it together... I think they did fairly well, but it's not good when a child hangs up the phone on her parent... sheesh. We'll get there.

On a brighter note, I want to challenge you to do something, my loyal readers (hee, hee).

This last week we went to my nephew's first birthday party. It's a family tradition of ours to let the 1 year old have his own piece of cake and let him dig into it! Jessica also had her hair cut to donate to locks of love - it looks really cute!!

Anyway, I pulled her close to me while we were at the party, and had my hubby take a picture of us! She tried to squirm away.. silly girl! Some of you may know how temperamental 11 year olds are. Anyway, I told her that I would give anything to have a more recent picture with my mom! Or even more when I was younger - there aren't many.

So, my challenge to you is to get a picture of you and your mom! You don't have to post it to your blog - but if you live in the same vicinity as your mom, get a picture taken of the two of you!

I used to think that I didn't look much like my mom, but I guess more and more I do..

The Beginning, and The End

Alternative post title... SCHOOL'S OUT!

They started on August 13th - more than ready to get back into the swing of things...

And May 22nd, they are done!! I think Brennan has grown a few inches since then..

And now they are going to have to figure out what to do with themselves two and a half months before school starts August 11th!

Brennan was accepted into National Jr Honor Society - He's had mostly A's this year... now he tells me he got a B.. in English. He went to California with the Symphonic Band to play at Disneyland. He also tried out for the District Honor Band, but didn't make it.

Jessica was her class finalist in the Spelling Bee - did a great job! She also performed in two acts in the School Variety show this last month. She plays the flute in the 5th grade band, and will be attending the Taylor Jr High Band camp in July!

Mallory.. has had a great year in 1st Grade! She's had different "friends that are boys" during the year, but I won't name names! I've enjoyed sharing the Art Masterpiece program in her class this years! It's been fun to hear "Hi, Mallory's Mom" from the kids in her class. I also did AM in her class year - so there are plenty of kids who know me!

I don't have the same flexibility at work as I did last year, so the kids will need to figure out how to get along better than they have.. I think there will be some financial incentive to not call Mom every 15 minutes while she is gone!

Happy Summer Everyone!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I think my favorite quote lately is..

There is not one way to be a perfect mother,

but there are a million ways to be a good mother.

I have given up trying to be perfect, but I will keep struggling to be

a good one.

I am thankful for the opportunity to be a Mother, I know it is an important job, and I am thankful for the help I receive in doing it.

I am grateful for the example that my own mother set for me. I miss her dearly. Whenever I am going thru a rough spell, either with parenting or something else, I know that she would have done whatever she could, and wished she could take away my pain.

(Dec 1994, right after I became a mom, with my mom, and her mom.)

I am also thankful for the opportunity that I had to look after both my mother and my grandmother when they each became ill. It was the least that I could have done for them, after all that they had done for me.

(Yeah, and I'll try not to cry too much today. Stop it already!!)

Tagged by Lisa

Hmm.. 6 Random things about me! I've been thinking about it for a few days, and I think I might have it.. (those who have done 100 random things.. more power to you, I don't think I could do it!!)

1. I have never had a manicure or a pedicure. I think I am way to thrifty, and don't like my toes anyway. My fingernails grow well, so I don't feel the need. Also, I waitressed for a long time, and we couldn't wear polish much, so I didn't get used to it.

2. I have a Hippo birdfeeder. Amazingly, birds have gorged themselves from it lately (I think its the pigeons.) I have alot of hippos, mostly stuffed, so this is my most unique hippos. (If it weren't dark outside, I'd take a photo..

3. I have never tasted alcohol. Just never felt the need, especially as I was taught growing up that it was not good. I was floored when I found out my younger brother drank himself sick one night with the swim team. He never did it again, however.

4. I have sat on what is purported to be St Patrick's grave. I went to Northern Ireland when I was 17, and we visited the site - a large stone, and I mean large, covers the grave. We joked that when Christ comes again, St Patrick will have a difficult time getting out!

5. I have a condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia. It is something more common in OLDER people, not young like me. I've had it for 14 or so years, and it has become increasingly worse over the past 4-5 years. I am considering a Gamma Knife procedure very soon to take away the pain that recurs.

6. I kissed a boy on top of the World Trade Center. We were on a choir trip to NYC in college, I liked him, we had sort of dated previously, but somehow I managed to get him to kiss me while we were there! Ahhh, blond haired, blue-eyed, cute boy. We couldn't have married, though, and I'm okay with that.

The rules:
a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
e. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

I tag..
http://www.fatsassyandmrwonderful.blogspot.com/ Kayola
http://lynnewsnyder.blogspot.com/ Lynne
http://puffyspatter.blogspot.com/ Puffy
http://www.kristyskritters.blogspot.com/ Kristy
http://blueberrybuckets.blogspot.com/ Kerrie
http://dfliesblog.blogspot.com/ Dragonflies

(and then would someone please tell me how to get this linky thing to work!! It is driving me nuts!!)

Whew.. that was tough! Good luck ladies!

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!