Day #298 - Boooooooo

So...today was Halloween...at the office. We were told to decorate our cubicles for the special day. I didn't really see the point and was not feeling creative at all. I am really bummed because I took several photos just for you and I left the camera in my bedroom and Trav is sleeping already. I am doing my best to give him at least 3 solid hours at night before I go in and wake him up with my snoring. I am getting a bit of a head cold and it certainly adds gusto to the nightly snores...poor Trav.

My awesome effort at decorating...

ANYWAY, there is a guy I work with in the Marketing Department who went ALL OUT to decorate his cubicle. We all saw it going up slowly the two weeks before the big day and it turned out pretty darn cool. He made a castle out of cardboard. Picture will be posted tomorrow. It certainly made it hard to feel motivated to try to beat it...who would be able to?

Zee Castle...

Zee Castle Builder & Family... 

I went dressed as a cowgirl and everyone asked if I was Indiana Jones...what the heck? Since when does Indiana Jones have braids? What ever happened to just being a cowboy or a dog? Is it a given that I have to be a specific cowboy, like Calamity Jane, or a dog like Snoopy?

We had candy for everyone to bring their kids around in the late afternoon. It is always fun to see every one's kids and the way they have grown in one year. The only problem with work place Halloween is it is almost impossible to get any work done. The volume will all of a sudden go up 10 notches and people keep popping around the door saying "trick-or-treat" while I am on the phone.

"Indiana Jones" & Ethan (Holly's 1st born)...

Tonight we had 3 groups of kids come to our door for candy. 1 group more than last year. I saw a post on face book for a friend that bought enough candy for 700 kids...that is ridiculous. Given the choice...it is obvious, right?

I hope this post is not coming across negative. It was just a weird but good day and a quiet weekend. Nothing wrong with that.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween."  ~Erma Bombeck

Day #297 - Magic Carpets

I am in my loft while 'Affordable Carpet Cleaners' is using their magic sucking machine on my family room carpet. They really seem magic sometimes. I had them come up this afternoon to work miracles on the basement studio apartment to get it ready for Renee and decided to get my family room cleaned as well. I've done my best to clean up after my pet's unfortunate accidents, but it feels much better having a professional here to make sure it is clean and clear. I would take a photo for entertainment value, but I am sure they wouldn't appreciate me posting their mugs on my blog...I wouldn't.

Oh well...I snuck one anyway...:)

Thank you carpet cleaners everywhere - It is so great to be able to call on you.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it; it is what the client or customer gets out of it." Peter Drucker

Day #296 - Itchy

Don't you hate it when you start to scratch your arm, leg, foot, shoulder, back and it itches worse? The other day I had this itch in the middle of my back that I just couldn't get to and Trav had already gone to bed. I tried to ignore it, but it just got worse. Then I remembered this little guy:

OH BOY - that did the trick. The only trouble with the back scratcher is...once you start, it is hard to stop. It is like the itch grows to the opposite shoulder, then the lower back, then the initial spot itches again...but it does feel good to scratch that itch. Now I use the thing almost nightly...Kitty seems to like it also...

I probably have permanent welts on my back from that thing - oh well, whatever works.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Well," said Pooh, "what I like best ---" and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.

Day #295 - Help

I just finished reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett (sorry in advance if you have not read the book and this post does not make sense). I will agree with my sisters assessment to the tune of: it was a good book, but not mind blowing. I am excited to see the movie now that I finished the book. I am trying to do that more often now...so far I need to see "One Day", "Atlas Shrugged" and now "The Help" - the books are building up.

What I liked about the book - I liked reading from the perspective of the different characters...I wish we could have seen it from Elizabeth's point of view or Hilly's - they were the darker side to the book or maybe even Stuart's. It would be hard to write from a racist point of view I suppose, but it might be interesting to be in the head of someone who believes a persons skin makes them more susceptible to disease and who truly believes in the rightness of segregation just to try and understand their perspective.

I didn't love how the book ended. I think it all ended kind of abruptly...I don't like loose ends. I also don't like that Celia never made friends with Skeeter...why not? Some of the stuff made the white people seem so stupid...I guess they were, but I also wanted the book to have more of an effect then it did. I wanted to know that Stuart read it and how he felt about it afterward, I wanted Skeeter's mom to secretly discover the manuscript and confront her with it at the end when they are talking about their old maid...I guess I want to have written the book!! :)

It was interesting to find out the author of "the Help" grew up with a maid like the ones portrayed in the book. Can you imagine growing up that way? I guess it happens all the time still today doesn't it? She can't be that much older than me. The Civil Rights Movement seems so long ago - it is hard to believe how awful it might have been to be old enough during that time to choose one way or the other and then to live through the consequences of said decision...I want to believe I would make the uniting choice and not the segregating one.

Maybe one day our kids will look back on our lives and say, "wow, that time during the economic downturn in President Obama's day was bleak...wouldn't have wanted to live thru that time period; your generation must have been really brave" Somehow I doubt that will be the case.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "You is kind. You is smart. You is important." Aibileen from The Help

Day #294 - Synchronicity

Synchronicity happens all the time, we may just not always know it. Today I received a call from an Agent from Denver, CO. He said Nancy, from Denver's Relocation Department (Debi's friend at the office), told him to call me and find out if I could assist the daughter of a friend find a place to rent in Park City. I told him I would do what I could for her and gave her a call.

When I called Renee to find out what she was looking for I started to think about my basement studio apartment. Trav and I decided we wouldn't rent it out this winter and wait until we had the money to fix it up a bit and rent it out next year instead. I told Renee about several sites she can check for rentals and then I told her about our little apartment if she is interested in looking at it since it kept coming up.

It turns out she had a place lined up with two other roommates, but one decided not to come out to work at the last minute and the other rented with a few other friends instead, so she is out here with no place to go and no roommates to live with. She came to see the apartment and wants to rent it starting in November for 6 months. The even better part is she is working at the sledding park only miles from our house...it will be such a great commute for her.

Huh...Now I really have to clean it and get it ready, which includes: professionally cleaning the carpet, scrubbing the place down with pinesol, repairing the shower curtain bar, the broken screen on the window, the doors on the storage cabinets, replacing a damaged shutter, curtain for front door window and toilet seat. I think that will be the minimum.

When things like this happen it always makes me wonder what I am going to learn from it. Maybe it is "just" a blessing, but maybe I will get a bunch of life lessons out of having her here...I hope they will all be good ones.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "There is no such thing as chance; and what seem to us merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny." ~Friedrich Schiller

Day #293 - Screen Saver

This weekend I finished 2 projects that have been on my mind for weeks.

The first was to clean out the mud room off the garage. It took several hours because I had to go thru several boxes and sort to throw away, give away and put away. There were 3 boxes that have been back there since we moved here 2 years ago waiting to be "gone through". I should have taken a before photo because the after photos are less than fabulous, but to me it looks sparkling and organized compared to the amount of stuff in there before.

The next project involves getting a new screen door for the back deck. There was a small hole in the screen when we bought the house, just big enough for Bart to stick the top of his nose thru when he was in the mood to sit and smell the outside air of an evening. Over the last two years Bart has stretched the hole wider and one day we were sitting outside and the cat came sneaking thru the hole.

For most of the Summer we have put a basket in front of the door so she cannot get through. It has been a pain to move it every time we go in and out. I even went so far as to sew up the hole - it looks terrible, like a spider web, but I thought it might help with the cat issue - it didn't, she just nosed her way through that fix as well.

We finally decided it was time to spring for a new screen and went to pick one up at Home Depot - problem is, it wouldn't fit - it was too thick and would stick when sliding it open. I took the screen back the next day and bought the screening materials one of the clerks had told me about instead. In the picture above you can see a black string made of rubber that holds the screen in place - I pulled that off all around the outside of the door and the old screen popped out, then I had to cut a new screen, set it on top and the re-insert a new black rubber string into the door using a special tool. Sounds easy....

...it was and it wasn't. I have a blister on my finger that ripped off in the process and I had to use a screw driver several times to get the string inside the crack more securely and something that should really be easy took me just over an hour to do...BUT I am so happy I did it and feel proud of the accomplishment; plus it saved us $80 for a new screen.

New and improved - NO HOLES...Isn't it amazing A) the things we can do when we try; and B) how completing little tasks can make us feel so good about ourselves?

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "A project is complete when it starts working for you, rather than you working for it" Scott Allen

Day #292 - Speaking of Words...

A funny thing happened at the office today...

The Account I work on always gets the newest gadgets. They always upgrade to the newest Windows system on their computers and I have to wait 4 years to go from Windows 3 to Windows 7 at my office and they only did it then because our computers were no longer interacting with attachments from the outside, modern world (ha).

They had the phones first that forwarded their messages to their email and now the phone even shows all their missed calls even if no message is left. I will often get calls from people saying "I saw you called" and I WANT to say, "I would have left a message if I wanted you to call back" but of course I don't because I really don't mind. I always love it when I call a mobile number and hang up and then get a call back "you called someone at this number"...dude, I didn't leave a message because I realized I misdialed...:)

Well, today we discovered the phone will interpret and then print out the message if you ask for it, but I don't think my Rep will put all his eggs in that basket after what happened today.

Sheryle left him a message that said, "Hi Dave, I sent over the A2 for your signature and haven't seen it back yet. Please sign it and get it back to me."

The phone printed out, "Hi Baby, all the 842 'L' static sign butt on me."

I laughed sooooo hard. I immediately called Dave and when he picked up I said "Hey Baby" in my lowest voice. He asked me a question and I said, "whatever you want sweetheart"...I haven't laughed that hard at work for quite some time. It was lovely.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva JOKE: "Energizer Bunny arrested, charged with Battery." or how about, "what do you call a dog with no legs? It doesn't matter what you call him, he won't come."

Day #291 - English As My First Language

I think I need to take a grammar class. I wrote an email today that had to be reviewed by our attorney and he informed me that apostrophes are used in the possessive not anytime I want to use them or for every word with an "s" on the end...and there has to be a "neither" to use a "nor" and I have a thing with commas...hmmmm...maybe you have noticed. I wanted to tell him you don't need to use "that" so much...but decided it would be childish. Now I am scared to use a comma...so you will see lots of "..." - JK.

I actually just had to look up how to correctly spell "comma" I didn't want to confuse you with the use of "coma", although this post might put you in one. I enjoy reading and I enjoy writing, but it would be great to take a class on punctuation, although it was never an enjoyable part of school - dissecting sentences. Frankly, I would rather dissect a frog; my hope is I will learn the correct usage for all of these amazing symbols:;",.'./`~-{] ...etc. I also just learned I have been using "then" when I should be using "than"...have you wondered?

I am an American and should really know how to use English correctly. I will look at online classes tomorrow...

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "An error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it" Orlando A. Battista

Day #290 - Snore Bore

SORRY!!! I SNORE!!! SORRY!!!

Two nights ago there was an incident in my household...a snoring attack gone postal. It is not unusual for me to get a "turn over" shake during the night. I may have even mentioned it in an earlier post, but the other night I must have been shaken, poked, prodded, tapped awake 5 times at a minimum. Keep in mind I went to bed near midnight, so that is at least once per hour until the alarm goes off at 6 a.m.

Well, after one rather hysterical shove in the shoulder, I punched Travis in the eye...not on purpose mind you, but I was intending to shove his hand away from my shoulder with my fist, but missed. I was obviously sleep deprived and not thinking straight. :) So...what is the solution?

Would you rather:

Listen to snoring OR Sleep in separate rooms?
Listen to snoring OR wear ear plugs?
Listen to snoring OR Listen to your spouse yell at the dog in the middle of the night to "stop licking his paws"?
Admit that YOU snore ALSO!!! OR Admit that you have unnaturally sensitive eardrums since your spouse somehow manages not to wake you up from your snoring issues?

Anything else you can suggest? No? Well, I went out today and brought home Breath Right Nose Strips...My friend at work thinks it helps  - we will see - wish me luck. You want to know the ironic thing about this post? I am in the loft writing and I can hear Trav sawing logs in the bedroom...precious.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone.” Anthony Burgess

Day #289 - Bulbs

This weekend I got to go help my sister Keri pick out some tulips for her new rental house. We went and bought some bulbs and a rake, then weeded the front flower beds and back yard. We were lucky that the flower beds were actually in pretty good shape and the weeds that were there came up quite easily. Then Seerie and I laid out the bulbs for Keri to plant and she used my bulb planter to get those babies in the ground.

It really brought me back to the first time I planted in my own place. It took me 12 years to get my little house planted the way I wanted it. There was a lot of trial and error, lots of plants died, I transplanted various plants and most of the time they did really well. I remember buying tools until I found the ones I now love to use and I remember constantly weeding that yard.

I drove by my little house after I finished at Keri's - it looked really pretty good. The fall flowers are in full bloom and will need to be cut back before the snow falls; It was fun to watch the flowers cycle thru their season when we lived there and I get some rather large satisfaction knowing someone else is enjoying my efforts.

I also got a lot of satisfaction helping my sister and watching her get excited about something that I love as well.  I think in the end Keri planted 140 tulips. I hope they all come up in the spring!! I will try to help with her annuals and a few summer perennials when May rolls around...can't wait.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size."  ~Gertrude S. Wister

Day #288 - Atlas Shrugged

Atlas is the Greek God holding up the whole world - what happens if it gets too heavy for him? He struggles and struggles to hold up the world on his shoulders until one day...he shrugs and the lights of New York go out...

I finally finished this book. I started reading it and got a headache from the tiny print, so I got the book on tape - it is only 55 HOURS long, but listened to most of it back and forth to work every day until it got so good I had to read the book when I wasn't driving. Here is my review:

I loved it. The characters were deep and well developed. The story line educated me on an additional way of looking at the world. It inspired me to take a look at the areas of my life where I am just going thru the motions and not THINKING or CHOOSING to make it better. It made me want to read "War and Peace" and "Les Mes" and other classics. AND now I know who John Galt is, which was bugging me before.

There were a few things that bugged me...for instance, what happened to Eddie Willers? What...he just gets stranded on a train in the dessert and Dagny never thinks about him again?

Also, is Dagny the ONLY brainy woman good enough for, how many men were in love with her...Ok, only 4 (I liked Hank the best), but still...Besides, if she is so smart, how did it take her SOOOO long to join the others? I kept waiting for her to turn out right in her decision to stick it out. I thought she would somehow bring about the ultimate safety of the world, instead she just delayed the inevitable and made everything worse. I did have a woman crush on Dagny as well. I loved her confidence, professionalism and strong no nonsense statements, plus it sounds like she had great arms - she was pretty cool.  

That 57 page speech John gave - what the heck? We just had chapters dedicated to the ideas he talked about in his speech in the pages just before it. He was basically saying the same thing over and over in different ways. I was happy to hear it took him 3 hours to give it on the radio, because it was at least that long for me to listen to it as well.

I also didn't get the purpose of "Project X" - it never really became a factor in the book except to end Dr. Stadler...well, and the bridge I suppose. Anyway, I didn't really get why that was any part of the book.

I did gain a much broader understanding of business and industry and how important it is in our current world. I also have much more respect for the inventors of industry. It is hard to look at our current economy and not wonder if the great industrialists and minds of our world are hiding out somewhere waiting for the lights to go out.

It is just as hard to reconcile the statement, "I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine" with "love thy neighbor as thyself". These two concepts and schools of thought were constantly present as I read this book - still working it out actually.

Loved the book - HIGHLY recommend reading it.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Love is our response to our highest values — and can be nothing else." Ayn Rand

Day #287 - The Cat Came Back

Today my co-worker got good news and I liked the story so think I should share it in memory of Lardo - the cat that found it's way home from West Farmington after deciding chasing mice was not his fondest wish after all.

Carrie's cat is an outside cat. Lester comes and goes thru the dog door. One August evening he did not come home. Much effort was made to locate Lester to no avail. Today Carrie received a call from a man who lives in Little (or is it Big) Cottonwood Canyon who said he had Lester at his house. Carrie lives around 110th South, which is quite a ways from the Cottonwoods (Big OR Little).

Apparently, Lester showed up 4 weeks ago and started sharing the food he puts out for his other outdoor cats, but Lester was skittish and would not allow Mr. Cottonwood to look at his tag until today. I am excited to see how the reunion goes this evening and wonder if Lester will continue in his Nomad ways  and take off on his own again or stick around this time.

This reminds me of the time I lost Bart in Mueller Park Canyon. It was the 4th of July and Bart was probably only a year or two old. I was hiking up the trail w/him while Travis rode his mountain bike and took him off his leash. I would have him sit by my side when a bike came by, but one time there were two bikes and as the first one passed Bart stepped out onto the trail to watch it and the 2nd bike slammed on its breaks and skid. Bart just took off down the trail and disappeared.

I must have walked up and down that trail 10 times calling him. Travis was not very pleased, I cried a lot that night, but we had to leave him in the Canyon. All night fireworks were going off and Travis and I just sat and thought about our poor puppy in the scary canyon all alone with the wild animals and loud noises.

The next day my brother Jason brought his dog Helmet out to help us look. They were in front of me and I came around a corner, not far from where I lost him on the trail, and Bart was standing there looking after his buddy Helmet; probably wondering if he should follow him. I had assumed he ran straight down the trail, but he jumped off the trail and hid in the bushes from the bikes. Silly dog.

I like the animal success stories - there is something motivating and cheering when a defenseless animal conquers all...hip, hip, hooray Lester.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.” Winnie the Pooh

Day #286 - A New Job

No, not me, Travis. He started his new job on Monday. He is working in Telecommunications again, something he is incredibly knowledgeable and good at, but he is not super excited about it. I think it is difficult to start any new job, but in this case he doesn't get his true product training for another week and a half; this means he is bored out of his mind.

Travis would tell you he has a bit of A.D.D. in him and I would agree. He is super smart and independent, he hates being micromanaged and he hates wasting his time unless it is on something he prefers to be doing. His first days are sitting around watching other people make calls and doing online training. Frankly, it sounds a bit boring to me as well. I think after he gets back from his training in Dallas he will feel more excited about things.

As I was sitting here thinking about my day and what I wanted to write about I felt torn - this job is such a blessing to our family, but I wish it was truly what Travis wanted to do. He is SOOOO good at Telecom and I know he will do very well at this company. I can see many opportunities for him there and I am happy for the money, the security, the safety of it all...I am just keeping my fingers crossed that he finds some joy in the job as he gets more involved.

I Am Grateful,
HB
Diva Quote: “Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar.” Drew Carey

Day #285 - Amy...A Friend In Deed

Today is my sister Amy's Birthday. She means a lot to me. All my siblings do, but Amy was one of my best friends as we grew up. We shared a room for many years and we seemed to always come up with some project or other to work on together. Ten things I love about Amy:

1 - EVEN STEVEN - one word I would attribute to Amy is "Serene". She might not always agree, but when I see her faced with something that would set me off in a tailspin of emotion, she just seems to take it in stride and work through it. I often wonder what she is thinking or feeling in a given moment, but she seems to internalize a lot of what she feels. Don't kid yourself that she hasn't received the gift of the Dana facial expressions...she is right up there with the rest of us, but in the big life stuff, she is a gracious example of serenity and I love that about her.

2 - UBER TALENTED - Every time I go to Amy's house I look closely to see what she has been working on. Most recently I noticed a green table in her living room - I think it used to be black. There are the book shelves in the family room recently painted, the bench she made by the kitchen table, the picture she made of Elle on the wall, the amazing painting and decorations she makes in the kids rooms, the "dang it dolls" she made w/Melissa, the blankets she helped the young women in her ward make...I can go on and on. It isn't like she is JUST a seamstress (not that there is any JUST about that), but she is a carpenter, a brick mason, a painter...on and on. One of my favorite memories of Amy is when we made our own pajamas - we laid down on the floor and traced the outline of our bodies in the material and then sewed the two halves together...I remember the arms were extremely tight. We also made some dolls we tried to copy out of a book we saw. They had REALLY long arms and legs and we sewed them so tight it was incredibly difficult to stuff them w/cotton. We always had a lot of fun with our projects. The point is, Amy is fearless when it comes to taking on a new project and she always finds a way to make it work.

3 - PRODUCTIVE - I think I can combine #2 w/this one, but how the heck does she find time to get everything done...I think she must just make that too. She has 3 kids  (2 to 8), works part time, has a calling in young women's, goes to Kung Fu once per week, spends time with her husband Lance and somehow gets all those amazing projects in during her spare time...Don't ask me how she does it, but I am amazed at her ability to get it all in there.

4 - HANDS - I love Amy's hands. They are a symbol to me of everything hands should be. Amy is an Esthetician and a Massage Therapist. I think she is also an energy worker. I don't often take advantage of her amazing talent like I should, but every time I go I am moved by her talent. She told me once many years ago about a woman who came in for a massage and cried the entire time. Afterward she told Amy it had felt so good to be touched - the woman was soothed by her and Amy gave her that freedom to express her feelings without comment or judgement. That is the kind of power Amy has in her hands. Even when I get my eyebrows waxed (and my chin, and my lip) she has such a gentle way in her fingertips...Amy's hands are magic - look at all she accomplishes with them.

5 - GENEROUS - Amy is always the first one to show up and help out in any situation. I know she helped Keri a lot with her move, she helped me pack up my house when I was moving up from NSL, she helped paint my fence and kept working at the piles of branches in my yard after everyone else had quit, she helped with Chuck's move(s) and she carries boxes...that might sound funny, but I am a wimp, helpful, but not very useful in a strong arm situation. Amy is tough and digs in and gets it done when the time comes.

6 - STRONG - you can imagine how strong Amy should be from giving massages, taking Kung Fu, moving other people's boxes and building stuff all the time. I have a few funny memories - Amy worked for UPS for a while loading trucks with boxes to be shipped around the Country. She went to get her yearly girl exam and the Doctor asked if she and her husband were having problems because she had bruises all up and down her legs and arms...I mean ALL up and down. It was awful, but funny. Amy is also the only one that will still wrestle with our oldest brother Jason. I can't stand to watch, I'm a worry wart (someone might get hurt), but one time Amy and Jason landed wrong on my parents couch and broke it...Dad was pretty happy about that one.

7 - MAMA MIA - Like I mentioned before Amy has 3 kids - all born, how is the PC way to say it? Without medication...I want to say "natural", but my friend Jen told me that is not the way to describe it these days. I was honored to be present to film (in good taste of course). I will never forget how she was with Archer, her first. Talk about Serene - that woman barely made a peep. I remember the spirit of that moment, it was so powerful as that little boy made his entrance into the world. I have been super blessed to attend the birth of a few of my nephews and nieces and every experience has been special in different ways, but the moment when the baby comes fully into this world is so special. Thank you for sharing those moments with me. Amy is such a loving Mother - sometimes I think I would throttle those lovely little darlings, but Amy just moves thru her day w/Elle hanging on her legs as if she doesn't mind at all. Amy's children will always know they are loved.

8 - JUDGE JUDY...NOT - I know that Amy will accept me no matter what. She never lectures me, she never makes me feel wrong, she is always open to listening to what I have to say even if she doesn't agree with it, but I never feel judged or frowned upon by my sister Amy.

9 - FAITHFUL - Amy has a purity of Faith. She won't Bible bash and she won't try to prove herself right - she doesn't need to. I think this is such a powerful form of Faith. She just knows what is right for her and lives her life according to her beliefs. She doesn't try to push others to live like she does, she just moves quietly along being her light to the world. I love this about her.

10 - FRIEND OF MINE - I am soooo lucky to have sisters that are also my friends. Amy is a favorite of ALL of us. There s no one Keri would rather spend time with on any given day (except maybe Mom). When Melissa is in town, they are pretty much together doing whatever they can think of to be productive - they have that in common. Even my sister-in-law, Melanie, spends more time with Amy then I do, but I hope Amy knows how much her friendship has always meant to me, and always will.

Thank you my Dear, Beautiful Friend.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "I, who have no sisters or brothers, look with some degree of innocent envy on those who may be said to be born to friends."  ~James Boswell

Day #284 - Baptism

Today we got to attend our nephew, Archer's, Baptism. All of the Baptism's I have attended in the past were shared with a few other kids - Arch was on his own. What was cool about this is only his family was there and only his family participated in the program so it made it more personal for him. Mom and Dad said the prayers, Grandpa Drake gave a talk and directed the entire thing to Archer, Abbie (Archer's 10 year old cousin) gave a great talk on the Holy Ghost and everything went off without a hitch.

Afterwards, we went back to my sister Amy's house and ate breakfast casserole's (made by Mom of course), fruit and muffins. Delicious. It was fun to see Lance's sisters and brother w/their kids. That family has really grown over the last few years. It is hard to believe we knew them when they were snot nosed high schoolers and now they all have kids.



Does Lance have to look so serious?

My favorite was Lance's youngest brother, Josh's, baby (wish I got a picture of him). He is a Charlie Brown baby named Holden. What I mean by Charlie Brown Baby is he is round all over - perfect round head, round cheeks, round belly, round legs...chunckville and ADORABLE. He had dimples in both cheeks and I got him laughing so hard I was afraid he couldn't breath - it was awesome.

We also found out my cousin Jarom and his wife Maria just had their 8th baby who has down syndrome. No one wishes for a physical or mental challenge for any baby, but I know that child will be such a blessing to their family. I have thought about them all day and hope they will see the blessing in him - of course they will.

It was a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning - my Mom was hilarious, everyone was in a good mood and the only thing missing were the family members who couldn't make it...Missed you guys.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light?"  ~Maurice Freehill

Day #283 - Really? Snow?

I am documenting the first snow of the Season so I can compare it to next year. Last night it snowed at least 4 inches. Not that big of deal really except the trees all still have leaves on them and the snow is so wet the branches are hanging precariously downward. The tree we tried to stand up, referenced in an earlier blog, gave way to the pressure and is laying on the ground again, one of my new aspens in the backyard is completely bent in half, the willow on the side of our house is dragging on the deck; I can go on and on.

I just keep thinking it is too soon, there should have been more time to prepare. I didn't get the hoses disconnected from the house, the deck chairs are still out and exposed to the snow, I didn't get the leaves raked up at all and they had just turned orange. I can't help but think this is how it would feel to be caught unprepared for a big disaster, only on a much smaller scale. Might need to give more heed to my parents and get some food storage going...doesn't hurt to be prepared, right?

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "If one asks for success and prepares for failure, he will get the situation he has prepared for." Florence Scovel Shinn

Day #282 - Dreams

So I have been having strange dreams lately.

Last night I dreamt an agent in my office came over to my cubicle and right in front of my boss, whose door opens right across the hall from me, if the rumor they heard was true about me moving to another real estate company...I said, "in my dreams"...ha ha, Just kidding, but that would have been a good one. Anyway, I played it pretty cool in my dream and just shrugged it off and said something like, "I'm sure if I was leaving the company, I would make an announcement when it was time."

I have also been dreaming about the book 'Atlas Shrugged'. It is REALLY good, but it is driving me berserk on many levels the main one being I want to know how it all turns out for these well developed characters. Last night I dreamt I was in a little red plane and it crashed in the mountains - wonder where that came from? Who is John Galt? :)

Dreams really are pretty interesting aren't they? And they are always pertinent to our lives in the preset time. My sister mentioned once she dreamt she lost her teeth - that is the only recurring dream I ever have...loose and broken teeth. I have also mentioned I recently developed a fear of heights...I think both of these indicates a fear of failure...probably should see a shrink about that.

Sweet Dreams - I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day #281 - Mustache

Travis decided to grow a mustache during the month of his birth. He had it all thru September. We talked about him shaving it off several days ago and then tonight he looked at me and said, "Don't you feel lonely tonight?".

I looked at him and said, "no...do you?"

He said, "Don't you feel like something is missing?"

Then I REALLY looked at him...apparently he shaved his mustache off 2 days ago and I didn't even notice!!! I am a terrible wife. I immediately blamed my cold for this inattention to detail since he won't even cheek kiss me right now. I informed him this morning that he does sleep with me every night and I do breath on him...most likely. He informed me that he faces the window...nice try.

Sorry Babe - I should have noticed. You have a lovely upper lip!!

With Stache:

Without Stache:

Yep...look what a good looking guy he is...

I Am Grateful,

HB

Diva Quote: "A man without a mustache is like a cup of tea without sugar" English Proverb...I actually prefer my tea plain...:) 

Day #280 - Hummmmm

I know it is time to say goodbye to the hummingbirds. I haven't seen one for a few weeks now and figure they are migrating South for the Winter. I read recently that they remember every flower they ever visit, so I am sure I will see them again next year. I tried many, many times to get a photo for my blog and finally came up with this one:

They are sooooo tiny. This one is actually pretty big compared to a few of them that came around this year. The most maddening times are when two come at the same time. They chase each other away and only 40 feet away is a 2nd feed station.

The best times are when they fly up close to your face and hover there looking you over. They have done it to us a few times and it is WAY cool. Their little heads turn from side to side and then they just fly away.

It is such a fun thing to invite nature into our space, especially since we basically took over nature's space. Sometimes, when I am feeling connected to the universe, I will sit and invite the birds to visit our home. It might sound stupid, but a little light meditation never hurt anyone.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "God loved the birds and invented trees.  Man loved the birds and invented cages."  ~Jacques Deval

Day #279 - It's Fall Again!!

Lot's to catch up on over the next several days...We have had friends visiting us and I transplanted some flowers this weekend w/Trav's help - Orchids, Poppy & Peony.  I have no idea what I am doing, but I figure I don't have much to lose since they needed to be thinned and moved regardless. I REALLY hope they live.

I have also been catching up on house work and tonight got caught up on the bills and so this is a short post, but on top of that I am getting sick again. I am not sure why it is that every time I go on vacation I get sick. It is like I finally relax and it lets the bugs in. Oh well - I have been taking over the counter cold medicine and so far, so good; plus tonight I did the ol' Netti Pot...we will see.

I don't know if I have mentioned that I bought 2 more birdhouses from my neighbor. She was having a garage sale about a month ago and I decided to go for the BIG birdhouse that I was trying NOT to buy last time. It actually looks pretty good in my entry way and I can just move it into the house when it starts to snow. I just love the style of these birdhouses and couldn't resist them.

In the meantime, the leaves have been changing and dropping to the ground and it is beautiful up here.

There is just something so wonderful about the change of the seasons. I know I have written of this before, but I can't help writing again how much I enjoy how we experience ALL four Season's in UT. Plus the other night the moose were in the front yard and we expect to see them often over the next month. Fall is here...Hope it lasts for a while!!

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."