Yard Sales!

Okay...I'm not sure it's a good thing or not. Yard sales are the most fun, frustrating, wonderful thing ever invented. We found 10 movies this morning at a yard sale...sigh. We also found a wonderful camera for $50 that is way better than the one we bought 5 years ago for $700...is that pathetic or what?

My hubby found a hard drive for his sister, not bad, I was drooling over the camping cooler/grill set that was amazing, didn't EVEN ask for the price of that one. They had a gorgeous TV next door that we refused to ask the price of -- no one had a graphite tennis racquet!!! sigh. I might be forced to buy one...but we really wanted to try and find one used. They are pretty cheap now though...

Hubby got a motorcycle off of KSL that he's been fixing up, and having fun with -- I'm so excited for him. I'll have to grab a photo so you can see it.
So...we've just been spending money, huh?

Have a good one.

Dashner Rules!

Okay, talk about a shameless plug! Dashner has the best one. I wish I had thought of it...lol

Anyway, he is having a contest for mentioning his blog in our blog (or my blog as it were) and so here is my blog for it. He's a great writer, and if you haven't ready his series about Jimmy Fincher, you need to. My kids loved them! (well, all of the three that want to read anything right now...)

Here's his blog: http://jamesdashner.blogspot.com/2007/09/win-free-book.html

Enjoy!

It's Friday!!

Okay, so it's not the thrill it used to be in school, especially college, but it's still fun. We usually party together as a family on Friday...or I get to do theater shops, which is fun because we love movies. Tonight we get to go bowling. While I suck at the sport - although I used to be good in college, sigh -- I love the interaction and the atmosphere.

Not all bowling alleys are the same though, and so some are more fun than others. Some cater to families, and have nights with neon balls and black lights, which are hilarious. Some have discounts for groups -- which we discovered on our daughter's bday, AFTER we had already planned the bday, but too late to use...sigh. Never fails.



Here's a photo my son took for his photo class of my hubby about to get a strike...he's sooo good. Did I mention he's mine?

Anyway, this weekend is also Stake Converence, so it's good and crazy at the same time. I don't mind...at least I'm feeling better and the temperature is lowering and life is good!

The Morning After

Well, yesterday was a mixed bag. I was feeling fine until the afternoon, and then I was sick again. I still got some writing done, but ugh. My son got the spacers put in his teeth in preparation for braces, and he's NOT happy, Bob. I asked my hubby and he said, hey, he'd been there, and well, it hurts. Not much you can do. Poor boy.

We watched Flight 93 last night in honor of the day, and I had forgotten lots. We were trying to find the one that they had made from a documentary, but Blockbusters doesn't carry it any more. We thought that was an interesting commentary.

We also thought it was interesting that while the report on the war said we are doing great on all the things we were trying to accomplish, there was just one area of difficulty, and that's the one everyone reported on. Give me a break, huh? Can't something be positive??? Of course not -- this is the media.

The water got turned on in the garden and I think it was left on all night again...this has been the worst year for our garden. Our tomatoes are just now beginning to turn red. I was hoping to be canning salsa...don't think so. At least we'll have apples and applesauce -- I get to go gather from my brother's pear tree too. We love pears. Our peach tree had a whole 4 peaches, I think...sigh. Poor thing is dying out. We do have pumpkins! I'm excited, anything beats buying them.

Hubby got the downstairs bathroom pretty much finished!! It's sooo gorgeous with the new tile, I just can't stand it. I was just walking back and forth on it yesterday while he was finishing installing the toilet and he was like, what are you doing? I told him I was enjoying the floor. He really wonders about me sometimes...lol

And...ta dah! Our youngest daughter finally finished her adult diploma! Did she tell me? No... I know who's who in this house, let me tell you. Dad is the one they all go talk to...sigh.

So...still feeling kind of yucky, I'm going to lay down for a while and then get back to living. Got lots of laundry still to do, sewing to get finished and writing. hmmm...just a few things.

I Haven't Forgotten...

Today is a day that I can hear that gravelly voice in my head saying "This shall go down as a day of infamy..."

Today is very much a Pearl Harbor for me. This is the day my world was rocked with such a shock, that I still cry when I see pictures of it.

I don't know how anyone can forget that day. What is worse, how can we not support the troops that are over there, keeping it from here?




A fellow blogger had this YouTube connection, and after viewing it, I knew that it was just the thing for today. I hope it reminds you what is important. I hope it helps you never to forget.



I guess this blog will have several things, perhaps six, huh? But here is one of my favorite Alan Jackson Songs...




One of the neatest things I've read, is that several people are making this a day of service to others. Of reaching out. When we owned a pizza store, we used to give free pizza to the police, EMT, paramedic and firemen that would come to the store. If they had family that could prove military or other involvement, we sold them pizza's at half price. We put signs on the store thanking them and letting people sign them. I'll never forget the expressions of thanks and surprise. It was wonderful when we had the little store by the base. That was the most heart warming.

I've been trying to think all day what we could do as a family now that we don't have an obvious means of giving, and I haven't come up with anything yet. I do wish we had a giant flag, I would hang it from our roof.




I couldn't put Lee Greenwood's song here, but I could put the website where you can go watch his wonderful video. "I'm Proud to be an American."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RssIN3ustUw

With all the troubles of our country, I still love it best. It's still the greatest country in the world. Still has some of the greatest hearts and souls. Still needs me, even though it seems my small amount doesn't mean much.

Take a moment today and remember.

Greetings!

Well...I'm finally feeling a little bit better. Yesterday I thought I was going to church - I was supposed to teach a lesson even - but it didn't happen. I was back in bed, wishing my stomach belonged to someone else.

Today, so far, so good - but my stomach is still being iffy. I hate that achy feeling...sigh.

I had lots of deep thoughts yesterday, but they've vaporized with the new day. Hopefully some of them will come back so that I can share them with you.

One thing I was going to talk about for a friend. I was talking about a book I had purchased to help my daughter during a difficult time. She (my daughter) was totally addicted to reading. We are not talking just liking to read when she wasn't doing other things--I'm talking about stealing a book because she wanted to read it so bad. She got caught twice, once by us, once by a store, and at that point had to pay the consequences. She paid the store back, but it's been a sting she hasn't liked to talk about for a long time. It's an embarrassment for her.

We have the opposite problem some parents do. We don't have to worry about our children reading. We have to worry that they are reading when they are supposed to be doing something else...like listening in class! We even had one child almost come to blows with his teacher because the teacher tried to take his book away!

Now...given the thought that just crossed my mind that there was something in life so awful that they were escaping into books over it, (I shudder to think that was a reality) or they were just soo into reading that everything else was boring...I'm not sure. I don't think we have been that bad of parents, I mean, we're certainly not perfect, but we do try. However -- they do come by their addiction honestly.

I mean, I'm a reader. I read anything that comes before me. If I'm at the doctors office I stock up on magazines and read till they drag me out. If I am sitting waiting for someone, my first thought is what can I read? We go to the library weekly during the summer, and I'll check out at least 5 books...if not more. And these are not little thin ones either. Sometimes they'll be cook books, or self help with something like decorating, but usually and more often than not, it's reading material.

My kids aren't much different. Although, it's usually only two or three books for them.

My husband would read if he had the time -- he used to drive his mother crazy because he loved to read and he would read the same books over and over. She'd ask him why in the world he would want to read the same books over and over!? He liked them. I do the same thing. I have several books that are my favorites and I keep them for times when I was a relaxing read.

I'm looking for new authors all the time because I go through series so fast. Right now I'm trying to find all the LDS authors that I know and read their books. Unfortunately, not all of them are at the library. sigh.

But anyway...that's my family. We read. What is funny, is it doesn't seem to hit until jr. high. They HATE reading before then, which is strange. I have to coax and plead and threaten my youngest to get his 30 minutes in, and in a different book than he's already claimed to read all summer...

My biggest fear is that I'll loose my eyesight and not be able to read. If I loose my hearing at the same time, my world will be hard until I discover what blessing the Lord has given me in exchange. There's always a blessing in there, it just takes finding it! grin.

There is Life...

Oh...I feel so much better today! It's at that point where you have to be careful though...you think you are totally better and over do and then the next day you're back in bed! LOL Well, I get to spend the afternoon and evening in a movie theater, hopefully seeing movies I want to see and not the one I'm doing a count for...UGH. And hopefully I'll be back on my feet next week. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Someone Put Me Out of my Misery!

Okay...sometime between my visiting teaching and going to Curves with my daughter, I got sick. I didn't feel it really until I started the routine at Curves, but by the time I went around once, I was ready to quit and go home. I ached all over, my stomach hurt and just generally felt lousy. By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was lay down. And all of my sons were supposed to go to a Court of Honor last night!! I missed it! I'm so mad. Thankfully, I think one of my sons took pictures. Anyway...didn't get any writing done, finished the book I was reading, ate some Top Ramen which didn't taste good and went to bed. I was ROASTING! ugh. Today I'm freezing. There's got to be a happy medium somewhere. And I didn't get any writing done yesterday - other than my blog...sigh. Maybe I can pound stuff out while I'm siting here vegetating...
Have I mentioned what a wonderful hubby I have? He's staying home and taking care of me today...sigh.

Sunrise

I never thought I'd be a sunrise type person. I am NOT a morning person, if my other posts haven't alerted you to that info...grin. But, in having to be forced to be up with getting my children ready for school, I must be realistic and take care of business.

This morning, I'm sitting at my computer, typing while I'm waiting for the boys to get through with their baths, and here is this gorgeous sunrise outside my window.

Isn't our earth simply amazing? sigh. What a gorgeous day this is going to be. I hope you all have a great sunrise, or if not, a beautiful sunset tonight. Those are excellent too!

Labor Day...the beginning of Fall

We have a discussion in my house with our eldest son that Fall doesn't start until the calendar date. I've told him several times, that as soon as the temp finally falls below 80, we are looking at fall. It's not going to be this week, probably, since the forcast is 90's or 80's, but it's coming, and the nights are getting cooler, which is all I ask for!

I love three day weekends. We all get to sleep in, we all get to hang together, (especially me and my hubby-which is my favorite person to hang with anyway)and we have a BBQ and enjoy the last vacation day of the summer.

When I was growing up in California, the last official day of summer was Labor Day. We all knew school started the Tuesday after, and partied like mad that weekend. (well...partied as much as you can when you're LDS and don't do all the typical things associated with partying...LOL) We knew that there was a long stretch of time between that and our next day off, which was Thanksgiving. Then it was a shorter break between that and Christmas, which we got two weeks off for. Then we had a day in February, and then spring break sometime around Easter, usually the week before or after. Then we had to wait till Memorial Day to celebrate summer again.

I look at my kids schedules now, and they have at least one day off a month, seems like. While they don't get the long stretches of break like I did (unless they were in year round school) they get lots of little breaks. It drives me crazy. Who said school had to start the end of August? What good do those three days do?? And this year, they don't even get a spring break. They have a Friday and a Monday and that's it.

It's a good thing I'm not in charge. LOL

Anyway, one of my favorite seasons is on the way and I can hardly wait for the leaves to start changing!!

Enjoy the last day of summer, I know I will.

Garden Produce

Well...like the phrase goes...One man's surplus is another man's feast. In our case, it's our zucchini. We have one plant that just went crazy. It's huge...almost 8 feet across. My son's just spotted one that they didn't pick in time, and it was huge. At least 2 feet long.

My hubby took it to work with a couple of smaller ones, and before he even was gone an hour, they were all gone. Especially the big one. The teachers at his school was having a hard time getting hers to grow, so she was thrilled at the produce. I was thrilled when I took some to Curves with me and all but two of them were gone by today. I never dreamed anyone would WANT zucchini...I mean, we like it, but we're getting tired of it by now.

I've only just started making zucchini bread - it never occurred to me to freeze it. I've been freezing everything else...

Anyway, good things come in strange packages. I just hate seeing it go to waste, so this was thrilling to me. And, we got some nice tomatoes from someone else in exchange, and since ours are still green...I'm way happy!