A Sad Day...

Well, I meant to post this yesterday, but time got away from me. Things have been hectic at work because my boss's boss is retiring and today was going to pretty much be her last day at work, so they threw the retirement party this afternoon. Everyone has been stressing out all week because of it (well, all the big wigs that had to be there) and so some of the stuff shifted to me because I'm the peon, don't cha know? grin. I really didn't mind, and I got more hours.

Anyway, the reason I wanted to blog was because of this cat.



This cat used to sleep on our couch just like this. We called him roadkill, but his name was Rafael.



He was an unexpected kitty that my daughter's cat had a year ago.



In this picture he's the one on top. When he was this small, he was hard to tell apart from one of the other kittens, and the only way we could was because he was darker.

Well...he got caught under the garage door on Wednesday night. They were so used to running under the store and stopping it when the sensor spotted them, but this time, he was too slow. My daughter came home from night class and ran in the door, all upset. "That better be someone's poor idea of a joke as a cat prop," she insisted. We had no idea what she was talking about. We went out and opened the garage door, and sure enough -- he was dead. He'd been dead for almost 2 hours.

My oldest 'tough' son broke down crying, and the rest of the kids were generally upset. Except Randy...he figured we still all the other kittens...grin. I was fine until I contemplated the idea that I'd been the one that shut the door. sigh. Oh well. Animals die, especially pets. This is our third cat to leave us. I'm fine now, it's a part of life. Our kids are doing fine too. We still have the pictures to remember him.

And, he has a twin that is almost as pouffy as he was...

by Rafe.

Thanks!!

Just when I was feeling a little down, I realized I had been given an award! By one of my fellow bloggers, no less. I was sooo touched. Thanks Nicole!

Anybody there?

I'm feeling a little out of the loop today. I haven't been able to be actively involved in bloggland for a week almost two, and suddenly I'm lost in the crowd. I don't have as many comments, I don't seem to have as many visitors, and I'm floundering for attention.
sigh.
I guess I always knew it would happen, but it's sad when life passes you by.

My hubby is doing okay...not great, but he's managing it. He won't be to work anytime this week -- we'll see about next week. I love having him home -- though I suppose he's tired of me. I wish I could take off work and spend the whole time with him. grin.

I haven't gotten any more entries on the contest, so that should make those of you who entered pretty excited -- you have a greater chance of winning! I'm vying between two different prizes right now: A print of one of my drawings or a copy of one of my short stories. Hmmmm....

Not to Worry...

I'm still alive. Things have just been a little crazy. My hubby hurt his back Sunday night helping get his nephews truck out of the snow where it had been for over a year...sigh. And now has a bulging disk. As a result, I've been working extra to make up for the time I went to the doctors with him, and trying to get the housework caught up and well...everything else that a mom does.

My computer has also been on the fritz and only been really available this week for me to use. I was using a different one last week, but it's hard to type on it because I have no lap. So anyway, I haven't been avoiding everyone, I've just been busy.

I've gotten a couple of entries for the contest, which are great and it's been fun!! You guys are great. Looks like it will be the end of next week when I get to decide. I'll be keeping in touch!

Happy Valentines Day!

This is one of my favorite days of the year. I love to show my hubby all month long how I feel about him. There have been a few times that I've done something for him every day. This year isn't one of them, but we've still had some fun things. Yesterday he sent me two dozen roses at work. It was wonderful and they were gorgeous! As soon as I get a chance to take a picture of them I'm post it. Some of the flowers are for our daughters though, which is something he also tries to do. He is such a sweetheart!

What is it you appreciate most about your husband? I'd love to hear about it. Hope you all have a wonderful evening...we are going to the high school Lovers Feast that our son is participating in. I'm so excited!!! (I know...you can't tell)

So much for Free Education

I'm not saying anything that no one else knows...but I guess I need to get it off my chest. Does it bother anyone else how much we pay for our 'free' schools? And where low income starts?

Back when we were a very young family and had 7 children under the age of 10, we didn't have to pay any school fees and they qualified for free lunches. (boy was that nice!) Now that we only have four left in school, although we still have two older ones living at home, one of which is basically doing NOTHING, we barely qualify for reduced lunch, and they have fees out the wazoo.

And, if you don't pay the fees, it affects their grades and graduation. There are the standard fees, and then there are class fees ontop of that! One of my sons is taking engineering and has a $10 fee that was giving him an F until he paid it. What is with that? I realize that if we were to send our kids to a private school it would be much more costly, but we pay out of our taxes, and we still have to pay fees. And yet, if we don't send our kids to school - well, there are many that homeschool and do an excellent job. I wouldn't be one of them...

Anyway, I'm totally frustrated. It seems like we are being fee'd to death. We are barely scraping by with things and they keep taking their little bite. Being in that middle income area is really the pits.

Another thing that surprises me -- I'm not quite sure how I feel about it -- is preschool. I work in the preschool environment (sort of) in the special ed part. My department finds those kids or are referred to kids that have some kind of learning or behavioral dissability. Having a son myself that was in this program, I think it's wonderful and I know it helps them a great deal. But a kid that is normal, what is up with that? I am totally amazed at the amount of women trying to put their kids in preschool and they're only 2 years old! What happened to teaching them at home?

I remember when we took our oldest son to school for kindergarden and they asked if he'd been to preschool (he knew all his ABC's and stuff and this was before it was a common thing). We said no - he watched a lot of sesame street. How many of your kids grew up with sesame street and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, you reading to them, coloring with them and teaching them their colors, numbers and alphabet? By the time my youngest was going into kindergarten, they were expecting them to KNOW all of that before they went in! I couldn't believe it. I thought that was where they were supposed to start learning all of it, and reading. My son ended up in the special ed by second grade, but that's a side issue. What amazed me then, and still amazes me now, is the amount of kids that were being taught out of the home.

And many of these families cannot afford the cost! At least there was no way we could have!

Not only the financial or emotional aspect of it, but I think it begins to put too much pressure on the child. By the time they are in junior high, they are being taught stuff that we learned in high school! And by the time they are in high school, they are encouraging them to take college classes and graduate both high school and with an associates degree! What happened to absorbing knowledge and not just memorizing it? How much fun are these kids having during this time of their lives?

What are their expectations when they get out of school? The workers are getting younger and younger in the marketplace with master degrees...those used to be reserved for those in their 40's, and I just met one of the preschool teachers that looks like she's in high school, and just got her masters!

I realize part of my feelings stem from my age and how things are changing. I'm just not sure it's always changing for the good. Yes, I happen to like technology. I realize that our world is getting faster and growing because of the information we are able to teach at a younger age. But, I think other things are getting left behind in the dust.

I didn't mean to get on a soap box with this, so I apologize if I've offended anyone. But these are things that I feel strongly about. I still have kids in school, and I will eventually have grandchildren out there and I'm worried what they will be facing.

Morality and patriotism are not taught in schools, they are taught at home, and that is lessening all the time.

Anyway...those are my thoughts this Wednesday morning, and I've got to get the youngest going. Have a good one!

Computers....UGH

You know the old phrase, 'can't live with them, can't live without them?' It's usually associated with a wife or woman, but I'm using it today in association with Computers!!! It's probably the same thing as they say with a plumber or car repairman -- their stuff always needs to be fixed at home. grim. But my hubby does his best, it's just the stupidity of the machine.

My computer (I say my, but its both of ours) is about 10 years old. Now you talk about dog years, lets think computer years since they are obsolete the minute you walk out the door -- my computer is probably about 30 years old in comparison to the new stuff. We have upgraded it, revamped it, upgraded the hard drive, yada yada, and it's finally going toward the deep end. Yeah, I mean deep six end...

We are going to build our own (since there are distinct advantages to having a hubby know how to do that) but we are trying to see if we can wait, finances still tight no matter how cheaply we can get it. So, hubby does a wipe of the hard drive last night because he's convinced we have a virus on the machine. Sure enough, he finds two on the backup and is able to delete them before they would go back on the machine, but the machine won't run our brandy new Norton Anti virus. So...what do we do?

So I'm typing on one of the spare computers (we have three) and not happy because there isn't anywhere to put the keyboard except in my lap and if you know me you know I don't have much of a lap...sigh. I really am grateful that I have a hubby who knows how to do these things, and I'm really gratefull that he likes to buy the surpluss stuff so we even have this one, but you know what? It will be fun to see what a new computer is like...

200th Blog Contest!

Okay! In honor of the fact that I shall soon be entering my 200th blog (blows the mind, doesn't it?) I'm having a contest!! I'm thrilled, but a littler nervous no one will know, and therefore no prize will be given.

So it's a two part contest. One -- you must link this to your blog or website and comment to me that you've done so. Two -- you must write a single paragraph (or 100 words)starting with the following sentence:

"What do you mean it's loaded?"

This is my favorite thing, madwrites or adlibs, and so that's my favorite type of contest! This will start now, and end on the day that I write the 200th blog, so probably sometime during the last week of February. That should give everyone plenty of time. I don't care what genre, although no riske or porn will be allowed. I will post each day's offerings so that everyone can read them. If someone wants to vote, I could perhaps do two winners, my choice and the readers choice. It will depend on the type of response that I get.

So -- everyone get writing! I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.
The prize is still in the works, because I want it to be something amazing and that needs my hubbies input and he's at work. As soon as I have it nailed down, I'll be posting it.

My weekend, by the way -- in case you're interested -- was wonderful. It was gorgeous weather the whole time and we didn't do anything but play games, talk and watch movies. sigh. It was much too short. I'm really looking forward to this week, Valentines is coming!

I'm so Proud!

My older sons were playing basketball last night at the church, and it was so much fun. They have been playing for a couple of weeks, but it's only been two weeks that both of them have been able to play. Our second oldest son is not the most athletic, although he likes the interaction with the other boys.

Last night, they kept trying to get him to shoot. He kept passing the ball. Finally, right about at the end of the game, he had the ball and shot it. It went in!! We were so thrilled and proud of him! It was great! It wasn't the winning score, since we were ahead by several points, but it was just so exciting.

sigh. I'm so proud!

We are finally getting a break in the weather, which is nice. I'm taking my hubby away for the weekend to get some together time since next weekend we won't be able to. I'm so excited -- I hope he has fun!

I feel...dirty

Okay...we went and voted last night. I wasn't going to, I've never voted in the primaries because I refuse to associate with a particular party, especially the two major ones. I was raised an Independent, and I've stayed that way. grin

Anyway, my hubby talked me into it. We live in a slice of area that is unincorporated, so as a result, we tend to get shuffled around a bit. The place we normally vote was not to be used this time, and we weren't the only confused ones. By the time we finally found the location, the line went all the way around the inside of the building. Fortunately it wasn't too long of a wait. The only thing that bugged me was the way Republicans handle their primaries. No one can vote in it if you're not a republican. Anyone can vote Democratic, but you can only vote Republican if you register. I'm sure many of you ran into that last night.

As a result, since I refused to register, I voted as a Democrat. ugh. You should have seen my son! He thought we had betrayed the very foundations of our souls. My hubby finally had to pull him aside and explain the reality of the games of politics, and we went home.

I still felt as if I had betrayed myself. I had just voted for someone that I knew had no chance of winning, simply to keep someone else from winning. Is that an honest thing? I don't know. But I do know I'm glad it's over. Now I need to take a long shower...

Weekend Remembered

I should have posted this yesterday, but I didn't have the time, nor did I want to go through the emotional mess that I've been since Friday. sigh. But, I felt that I needed to share my impressions with you all, and since no one can see or hear me while I type this or as you read it, things won't be so bad. No one will see my face get wet or my throat get raw. And...before I forget, all the photos are from KSL's site.

My family and I went to the viewing on Friday. I wanted to go, but my husband suggested it and I was sooo glad. I felt pulled, drawn to the conference center. I had to say good bye to the man who had been such a large part of my life. When asked by a co-worker why people even went to these things, I struggled to come up with an answer, but the basic idea is -- so that I can say goodbye. Afterward, on Sunday, I chatted briefly with another ward member that I'd seen leaving while we were getting there. She said they were very glad they had gone. Her comment was that it brings closure to see the body there. You know that person is really gone. That's how I feel. Funerals are a difficult thing, but I feel they are necessary for us weak enough to need to have that final moment on this earth.

Anyway...we got into Salt Lake and to the center at about 4 pm. The line was already starting to snake around the building, and we ended up about halfway up the street on the north side. It moved relatively quickly and by the time my hubby and the rest of the kids joined us, we were halfway up the West Temple side. It was one of those times I'd wished I'd had a camera phone, so that I could share the view of all those people lined up to the top of main street...

It was cold, but while the sun was shining, it was glorious. I'd brought a book and read for most the time while we were waiting for the rest to join us. I'd had the kids wear warm coats and they were supposed to bring gloves, but can anyone find the new ones they got for Christmas? Not a glove in sight...sigh. It amazed me to see people in shirts and short sleeves...they had to be freezing. By the time we got closer to the doors, my back was killing me. It doesn't like standing for several hours, and we'd been there for two by this time.

I sent my son on ahead to see how much farther we had to go, and he said we just had to get up the stairs on the front of the building and in the doors. That said, let me add that it took over an hour to do that. It was after 7 by the time we got in the doors, and we heard one of the ushers tell people that there would be an additional wait of three hours once they got inside. Several left the line ahead of us at this point. I was tempted.

We finally got inside, which was wonderful. I had been telling my hubby we should go, but he wanted to stay. This was important to him as well. I'm very glad we did. After we finally got through the metal detectors, I found a chair and sat down during the time he and the kids moved past me three times. I caught up with them just as they were having us go into the center itself.

What they were doing to get people out of the cold, was filling the sections of the conference center before filing them past the coffin. They would fill so many sections, the wait till there was some room -- have people go out and see the prophet (there was a steady stream, believe me) and then they would let more people in. We were in on the mezzanine level and about six sections over from the left side. The bottom area had about three sections filled. They emptied those ones before they started on our level. It took about a half hour per section.

The best part of this was the fact they were showing the show of President Hinkley's 95th bday party. That was so very special -- we hadn't seen it. It was so hard though, because there he was, large as life, but yet we were there because he had died. The workers were placing the flowers and arranging the greenery that was seen in the funeral, that was something fun to watch too, all the special arrangements that had been sent.

It came our time, and we filed out and my husband was sure to thank all the volunteers we passed, letting them know how much we appreciated their being willing to spend their time in this way so that we could be there. Many of them thanked us for coming. One gentleman said that President Hinkley would have wanted this -- he loved all of us so much. It made me start crying again.

The route to the viewing itself was through parts of the center that we hadn't seen before. There was a room with all the paintings from the Book of Mormon, they were huge and breathtaking. There was a gorgeous chandelier type fixture that hung from the ceiling to the floor down below us. There were various paintings of the Savior and parables. We were walking far too quickly for real enjoyment, but it was wonderful to see everything.

The Hall of the Prophets was awesome. There is just no other word to describe it. They had the line split at this point so that both sides could see the prophet. They asked us to keep moving so that everyone could see him. It was hard not to be able to touch him as he lay there, so very peaceful in his temple clothing.

And then we were out, moving past a couple of family portraits and going back down the escalators.

By the time we got to our cars, it was past 9 pm. We had been there for 5 hours, but when it was all over, it had been so worth it. I would do it again. Of course, I would remember hand warmers and blankets and a small folding stool...grin.

Saturday morning we watched the funeral, as I'm sure most of you did. It was so touching to watch the apostles line the path, and as he went out, one of them touched the casket in farewell. Seeing the grief on Elder Monson's face was almost too hard to bear.

It was something that I heard in his voice again Yesterday when they prepared to announce who the first presidency was going to be. He spoke of knowing President Hinkley for over 40 years, and how he had been so close to him. I wanted to reach out and give him a hug, but I'm sure the Lord was there.

I know that things are continually moving on, time waits for no man. But sometimes change is a painful thing, and I wish that things could just stay the same for a while. I know it will never happen, change is growth and improvement, however much pain it brings.

But, there is also Joy. Joy in spending time with my family, joy in seeing my boys behave themselves better than most of the kids around us, joy in being with my husband and knowing we have been sealed for eternity -- joy in the wonderful day Saturday had been.

I'll never forget President Hinkley's talk in conference a while ago (I'm sorry I can't tell you which one) where he compared life to a train ride. Sometimes there are glorious vistas and brief moments of amazing sights. Most of the time we have to find happiness in the humdrum and monotonous events of our lives, and that is what I try to do.

My life is not humdrum -- I never find it boring. And because of him, it has been enriched.

Thank you, President. And thanks to you all who read my efforts and add to my days.