FAMILIES ARE FOREVER!

Let it Snow!

2012-02-12T12:07:00.000-08:00

NaNa said I should put some pictures of my plants on my blog, so here goes. I know these guys look sickly, but they were beautiful last summer on the deck. I'm trying to preserve them until I can put them back outside. They are a cousin to the Morning Glory and have a beautiful pink flower. I sure hope they make it a couple more months inside.
These guys are in the pool table room. The ferns don't seem to mind the little light they get. The other one was one of my $4.99 buys and for that price, if it wants to last a month or two, it's still less expensive than a vase of roses which last about a week.
This is my hospital. They are put up here on the third floor to prove themselves or bite the dust. We shall see.
These are in the master bedroom. The pots are clay and they came from Costco. I think I prefer the lighter version of pots now though.
These are in the computer room. Some of these guys have been around for years.
These are in the guest room. The Norfolk Pines have kind of died off some, but some of the stems have new growth, so I'm giving them another chance.
Here's another of the $4.99 that replaced the sticks up in the hospital picture.
These are in the living room. I had to borrow these pots until I find some new ones or else get some new ones for the outside front of the house in the spring.
Dining room plants. A couple of these were $4.99 too.

We finally have a white winter. The one other time it snowed this winter someone shoveled our driveway. The only neighbor I did not even consider turns out to be the one that did it! The reason I know this is because yesterday Jim poked his head in the bedroom, where I had crawled back into bed, and said, "Hey, Ethan and Jim are shoveling the driveway." By the time I crawled out of bed to go tap on the window and give them a thumb's up they were gone.

Back up now. We were supposed to work at the temple yesterday. We got up at 4 am got ready and headed out about 5 am. It was snowing pretty hard, but we decided since we were up and ready, we would take off. Unfortunately, it continued to snow harder and harder and the wind picked up too. Not to mention the fact that we were in my husband's car and his tires should probably be replaced, but he won't hear of it until he gets some other work done and wants to wait until spring or summer or next fall. Anyway, we were sliding around pretty bad and 20 minutes up the road he said, "Oh no! I forgot my temple clothes." Of course we had to turn around and head back home. At this point we decided to take another route, which takes longer, but we felt it would be safer. I made a call to make sure the temple would be open when we got there. It seemed like it would be, but I was told to be safe, and if we felt we should turn back, they would survive without us. After being on the road for an hour and a half, we were still almost two hours away from the temple. Jim pulled off to get a couple breakfast $1 sandwiches at Wendy's. It looked like a blizzard with the lights around the truck stop and we both decided we would turn around and return home. Our youth also canceled their temple trip we found out later.

We finally made it back home and crawled back into bed. Jim got up around 9 I believe. That's when he said our neighbors were shoveling the driveway. I had to shovel it again later and that is when I found out Jim and Ethan had shoveled it about a month ago too. Jim said Ethan was not worn out after shoveling theirs so they decided to keep going. Nice neighbors!

With a Saturday at our beck and call, we decided by late morning that we would go to a firing range and begin our instruction to learn to shoot a gun. We want to get a couple for protection should it ever be necessary. There is one called "The Body Guard" that I like, it has a lazer on it to make sure you can hit the target. I liked it a lot. Jim liked a Smith & Weston 686, I think. Anyway, we did some shooting and learned a little. Dan, a friend and co-worker met us there. He's a gun pro and for my birthday he gave me a piece of paper that said good for one free "1/2 hour" shooting lesson. We went to Gyros & More for lunch after shooting. Now we have to look out for the guns we want.

Another thing on my "to do" list was to acquire a chain saw. Almost everywhere we go, including our back yard, there are dead limbs and trees that need to be cut up into fire pit wood. It's something I thought would be a good item to have for preparedness. After eating, we stopped at a Stihl store and tried out and bought a nice little chain saw with easy pull starter. We now have a trimmer, edger, blower and chain saw that are all this brand. Jim said they always start!

For the past couple of weeks, I've been wanting to get a couple new live plants. I've been checking, mostly Home Depot and Lowes. I didn't have any luck at HD this past week, however, Lowes had a gold mine of plants marked down to $7, which isn't bad. I bought two of them. The next day I went back and they were marked down to $4.99. The old Charlene would have marched in their with the sales receipt and demanded the difference. However, I did not. I just bought a few more. I think I'm becoming less of a pain in the ____ about the cost of items. I'm more considerate of other people's investment of time and effort in life. I'm sure my daughters will be grateful!

I LOVE having live plants in the house. Now I need to watch out for new pots. I've run out. I did find some beautiful red ones for the fire pit area this spring and summer. They were big and on clearance. Can't wait to put plants in them this spring.

We watched Lucy, neighbor's dog last week. It was fun. Lucy is a really nice and obedient dog. We had a great week and discovered some new games we can play together. She was absolutely no trouble. She is a bit of a beggar, but I don't mind. Jim is the disciplinarian. She cannot beg anything off of him.

The sun is shining. I invited a couple over for dinner today, but they are feeding the sister missionaries so she invited us over there. I'm fasting today, because I forgot last Sunday. It's been surprisingly easy for some reason. I'm getting hungry now though. We are feeding the sisters Wednesday. I made a GREAT batch of Chile last night, because I needed to take lunch to church today for the Elders. I planned on serving that today, but now I will have it tomorrow. Jim and I had it for dinner last night.

Happy Week!

Yumm!! and not so Yum!

2012-01-22T18:29:00.000-08:00

This past week has been good as far as food goes. Wednesday for lunch Forest City had a luncheon catered for DEI. It was sandwich wraps and pasta salad from "Feed Me". Very good! We had the sister missionaries over that night, so I brought home a combo pizza from Costco and with the pizza we had salad and Banana Cream Pie. Then, Friday night, our wonderful neighbors, Jim & Holly had us over for King Crab Legs and trimmings. It was GREAT! Then Saturday for dinner we had a gift card for Hyde Park and ate like kings there. We had a Rib Eye and some great sides. Today, it was leftovers. I just saw an ad for a new Subway Sandwich for $5 for a foot long that I might want to try tomorrow.

On the darker side, I'm pretty bummed out about our political picture. I hope everyone that has any sense and believes in a creator is praying daily that we as a people will have the wisdom and understanding to elect the right leaders for this nation. It is our responsibility to know what is right and act on it.

Temple Trip

2012-01-14T15:43:00.001-08:00

We had our second Temple Work Day today. Had to get up at 4 am. The weather was pretty iffy. I had an easy time of it again, but Jim was thrown into doing stuff he had not done before on the fly with little or no help. After getting up so early, driving all the way, stressing out for several hours, he was ready to come home and watch football. We stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home and he enjoyed his pancakes and eggs and I enjoyed my catfish and fried okra.

It finally turned into winter around here. Last night we came home from work and someone had shoveled our driveway. We are not sure who would have done that for us. That was very nice of someone. I do enjoy shoveling snow once in a while, but I was still grateful for the thoughtfulness.

Bishopric Party 2012

2012-01-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

Pictures from the Dinner Party. The Table ...
From another angle.
Jim & I. Jim is the Ward Clerk.
The Bishop & his wife. Their five children are all as good looking as them.
First Councilor and his wife. They have lived all over the world. Neat Stories.
Financial Clerk that works with Jim and his wife. She is expecting their fourth.
Membership clerk and his wife. They were just married last year.
Executive Secretary to the Bishop and his wife. They have two beautiful children. I've stayed with their children before and they are adorable. The children are blessed to have wonderful parents.
This is the Second Counselor to the Bishop and his wife. They have several children and they are all beautiful talented well behaved young people. I learned that their Mother home schools them. Their Mother is amazing. She is a Spiritual Giant and I am fortunate to know her.

Saturday Evening we had a Bishopric Dinner Party. It's too bad our table only seats twelve comfortably because there were fourteen of us. We do have two stools at the counter, but they are about 6 inches too short for the counter height. Jim and I planned to sit there. The Becks would not hear of it. They insisted on sitting at the counter. I felt bad about that, but succumbed to the fact that I was the hostess and belonged at the table with the majority of guests.

Initially Jim wanted to serve ham, but then we saw the Butterball Turkey's at Costco and both said, "Hey, what about turkey?" We picked up a 21 pounder. Then someone suggested I should have gotten two smaller ones. Then I thought I should have gotten one smaller one and a ham. It was too late though, the turkey was in the freezer.

I'm evolving into my wonderful Mother-in-Law, who always has her dinner parties ready ahead of time. I got the turkey in the oven so I would have an hour and a half before the guests arrived. I told Jim carving a turkey takes a half hour, at least, and is messy. He was apprehensive, but when all was said and done, he agreed. The turkey was awesome, moist and delicious. We also had mashed potatoes, which Jim mashed and did the taste test on while I was finishing the gravy and cornmeal muffins. I would have flavored them differently and mashed them a little finer, but some men just don't get that side of cooking I guess. We got Costco's Dark Chocolate Cake with shaved Chocolate Icing. That was great too. The Green Bean Casserole was a hit too as was Grandma Labiszak's Fruit Salad. One mishap was I used my bottom oven for the cornmeal muffins, which I very seldom use, and the rack was too close to the heat source and the bottoms burned. They were all eaten anyway and several people wanted to know how to make them.

It's really fun when church friends get together, and noisy. We don't drink, but genuinely enjoy being together and laugh and talk and have fun. The same thing happens when we go to family temple weddings. Just being together is great. It does not take alcohol to be happy and have fun at a party, that is for sure. Alcohol must be an invention of Satan. It does so much more damage than good.

Today, one of my church friends came up to me and said that because I had given her some insight into another friend's family situation she had been able to be very proactive in a positive way with that family. These two families are related and it made me feel very good to think two families, who perhaps were not as close as they could be, are becoming closer now.

Today I fasted for myself. I don't very often do that, but for a while now I have had it in my mind that I am just treading water spiritually, or even back peddling. I want to know that the spirit is guiding me. I want to feel it's presence in my life. So I fasted that I might be more kind, loving, compassionate, and find wisdom to help where the Lord feels I can be of service. I already feel more aware of my feelings and am concentrating on bringing this desire to fruition.

We did have leftovers last night, so this morning I packed up a box for the Elders at church because I always hear they don't get invited over to dinner very often and they are not able to drive to our home any more. I only had leftover beans for two so I sent them to the Elders and planned to make more for Jim and I today.

Jim had me call our neighbors last night and invite them to share our leftover Chocolate Cake today. When our neighbor called to say he was ready to come over to pick up the cake, I was just finishing dinner preparations - Leftovers. When Jim got here, he began snacking with us and I said he should just call his wife and have her come over too. While my dinner was heating in the microwave, I went to their place and got Lucy, the dog. We all enjoyed the leftover dinner. I made a new batch of cornmeal muffins and did not burn them. They were perfect! The new batch of beans were great too!

Christmas 2011-New Year 2012

2012-01-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning at Jim Jr's Home - No shortage of Chocolates!
Jim Jr received this clothing mister and said it works great!
Amy received a heated bird bath. I'm sure I will see it in use one of these days.
Brian and Genevieve sent this beautiful floral arrangement to NaNa and we all benefited from it's beauty!
Ready for church Sunday, Christmas day. A short service and a lot of family time.
Brady and Haylee at NaNa's playing with the Ipad.
Jim and I. I'm wearing the sweater I got from Jim Jr's family for my birthday. Love it!
Amy & Haylee
Amy and Brady
Amy & Jimmy
Brady with his new Nerf Pellet Gun. He received two of them. One didn't work from the start. The other we had a great weekend playing with. I shot and he ducked behind the stair rails. It was FUN! But I guess that gun stopped working too. What a bummer!

Haylee received a LOT of Science stuff and loved all of it!
This set she got from Grandma and Grandpa Labiszak. It's really neat!
This little critter is called "Bear", but we think it's a cat.
Our beautiful NaNa Christmas Day!
Brady got a telescope. Cool Christmas gifts!
NaNa's Christmas Brunch Table. It's always delicious and wonderful being together. We always miss those that can't be with us.
Poor Kevin got some kind of bug and felt rotten Christmas afternoon and the next day!
Mike & Mary at NaNa's.
Haylee enjoying one of her Science projects.
Mr Todd at Stoddard House. Jimmy came out to give Todd a blessing with his father. Todd is going to have a dental procedure to remove teeth. We are apprehensive, but there are very legitimate reasons to go through with this procedure.
New Year's Day at Sue & Dave's. This picture is Jim, Holly and Lucy. Lucy is the doggey!
Dave & Sue served an awesome dinner! We were lucky beneficiaries!
Pearl is Jim & Sue's Mom. She comes to visit from Florida!
Jim and myself enjoying the long weekend!

It was a great holiday season. Because Christmas eve was Saturday and Christmas Day was Sunday, we had off Friday and Monday too. We left for Wisconsin Thursday after work. It was a wonderful weekend with playing and visiting and eating. Jim's sister Mary had us over Christmas Eve. It was delicious, as usual, and there were leftovers we went back to share. NaNa's brunch was remarkable as usual. The kiddos, Amy and I went to the movie ChipWrecked on Saturday. We enjoyed it. The adults went to Descendants. NaNa thought that would be good. The guys were not thrilled.

Todd was very happy to see us on the way back to Cleveland. He would love for us to stay, and hopefully one of these days we will be able to spend more quality time with him. He is our Celestial son!

New Year's Day we were invited over to our neighbor's sister's home and that was awesome. Because New Year's Day was on a Sunday, we have off today, Monday, so it's been a nice long weekend again. I have truly been blessed. We received greetings from many loved ones and that is always special too.

I did a Holiday Letter this year after taking last year off.

Thanksgiving and Beyond!

2011-12-18T11:40:00.000-08:00

Brady enjoying the woods up at Grandma and Grandpa Stoehrs.

We left after work Wednesday eve, got to Milwaukee about 1 am. I sleep very well in the car well Jim drives. He requires a few neck rubs and head scratches to keep him going. We also have to stop every few hours to give his back a rest. We have a new tradition of picking up some Chipotle chips and Guacamole for the trip. It's great snacking.

Thursday am we headed over to Jim and Amy's and we drove up to Grandma and Grandpa Stoehr's with them. The children and I had loads of fun building fires in the fire pit and hauling dead branches from the woods for said fires.

The Thanksgiving dinner was awesome, as usual. Grandpa got in the doghouse because he brought Rudy, their dog in during dinner. Rudy whined and complained the whole while and while we were cleaning up after dinner he found an opportunity to knock the leftover Turkey carcass off the counter and was digging right in when I snatched it away from him. Of course, it was Grandpa's fault because Grandma told him not to bring the dog in during dinner.

Jimmy, Amy and I went to Breaking Dawn on Friday night. It was GREAT! I love Edward! Then this past week, Jim and I watched "Water for Elephants" and Edward was the star in that movie too. Of course, his name was not Edward, but he is still my hero!

We headed back to Milwaukee Saturday. We always make a pit stop at Laney's Cheese and Jimmy did not buy Haylee any smoked string cheese. We did, but did not think to leave some behind and Haylee was craving it once we brought it back to Cleveland. Next time her Dad better get her some! We made our usual Saturday Costco stop and bought Nana a new television for Christmas. Jimmy and Jim modified her TV cabinet to work with the new TV and I think it is great! Mike and Mary joined us in replacing NaNa's old junk heap of a television. We all met at NaNa's Saturday night and finally, after much negotiation, decided on Kopps hamburgers for dinner.

We stopped in to see Mr Todd on our way back on Sunday. That was a treat. He was very happy to see us. Loved his hot fudge Sunday.

Jim and NaNa. Jim loves his Ipad. Jim Jr now has the newer version. Brady bought his old version and Haylee bought the Ipod. Everyone is happy!
Mr Todd with Mom and Dad. He was not in a very photogenic mood this day.
Jim & Amy at NaNa's.
Grandpa Stoehr and Brady and Haylee sitting by the fire pit.
Jimmy went to purchase a BeBe Gun for target practice and we had a load of fun with that too.
Jim Jr & Family by the fire pit.
Brady & Haylee acting silly!
Grandma with Brady and Haylee by the firepit. Brady loves to act silly!
Amy, Haylee and Brady by the firepit. See what I mean about Brady. He gets that from Uncle Jim and Aunt Leslie!

All in all it was a great long weekend! Thank's to DEI and Fidelity for allowing us to have off on Thanksgiving Thurday and Friday.

Emily's Wedding

2011-11-23T12:05:00.000-08:00

My Beautiful Daughter
Playing in front of the Stake Center before the reception.
Tyler - Troy - JanaLynn - Grandma
Family Pic
To good not to post.
Princess Tralee
Brady - Jackie - Jim

Hunty
Dave - Jim- Tyler
Tralee
Hunty
Steve & Lorraine in the congrats line

Hunter & Tralee on the Temple Grounds
Bountiful Temple Grounds
Front of the Temple
Emily & Shawn
Hannah - Heide - Dustin -Cecily
Jackie & Brady
Lorie's daughters from left - Jackie - Shawna - Nikki - Rachael (?)
Adorable Hunter
Jim & Leslie
Troy & Jana

I guess I better post some pictures from this before I post Thanksgiving, which is tomorrow.

We had a wonderful opportunity to fly to Utah for Emily's wedding at the Bountiful Temple. Same place Jackie was married. The really great thing was that Leslie and Jim were able to join us with Tralee and Hunter. We had a wonderful few days together.

When Jim made the reservations, I had no idea we were leaving to return to Cleveland predawn Sunday morning. We were not getting there until Friday afternoon, so I was bummed out when I discovered that. I called Delta and they said it would be around $300 to make any changes. Well, even though what happened next was frustrating, it turned out to be TERRIFIC. We got to the airport in Cleveland and they said our flight was delayed. It was delayed to the point that we would miss our connecting flight. Before all was said and done, I asked them if it was possible for them to get us on a later flight on Sunday since they had delayed our arrival by several hours and they did it! Instead of waking up at 3 am to catch a plan and turn in a car, we could sleep in and enjoy breakfast with the kids on Sunday.

By the way, Jim did an awesome job on the hotel. We had a terrific room and a terrific breakfast that came with it. Fun was had by all!

I Guess I Missed These.

2011-09-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

Sunset in our back yard.
Just before Smores at the Firepit.
Dinner at the Club.
Tralee being photogenic with her Mom.
We have a budding model on our hands.
Hunter at the Park.
Another modeling shot of Tralee, at the Club.
My daughter and her husband. This is the best I can do at getting a picture of them together.
Mom and Hunter.
Daddy and Daughter.

Somehow I downloaded these pictures without getting any on my blog. These were taken while Jim, Leslie and the kiddos were here before the weekend in Milwaukee. Tralee loves posing for pictures. She is adorable. We had a great time having this part of our family here for a short stay.

Life Goes On...

2011-09-17T05:11:00.000-07:00

Father & Son testing Brady's Birthday Presents
Husband & Wife
Jim & Amy
Family Gathering at NaNa's
Kevin & Mike
My goofy children. They cannot take a picture without doing these kinds of poses.
Mike & Mary at NaNa's after Christmas Brunch in September.
Hunter wolfing down Aunt Mary's Monkey Bread.

Normal everyday happenings.
Tralee thinking.
More thinking.
Hunter eating Chocolate Ice Cream from Copps.
The Ipad. Very popular in the family.
Still thinking.
Hunter was not happy about something.
More testing our birthday loot.
Father & Son at nap time.
Bedtime.
Haylee doing her thing.
Hunter and the Monkey Bread.
Tralee with the jumping ball in her tummy.
Silly kids!
My beautiful daughter.

Brady and Uncle Jim at Brady's Baptism.
Father & son.
Jim & Grandma Stoehr.
Jim & Uncle Dave.

Hunter & Brady
Brady & Haylee
Amy & Haylee

Lots of happenings. Leslie and Jim flew in with the kiddos. It did not bother me one bit that the house looked like a cyclone came through. It was wonderful just to have them here. Towards the end of their stay, we drove up to Wisconsin for a wonderful weekend with all the family. Brady was baptized by his Dad. Nana made a Christmas brunch in honor of us all being together.

Jimmy accepted an offer with a new company so their family life will be changing. Even though your children are now smarter and more successful than you, it doesn't stop the caring and praying for their lives to be without struggles and trials. I know we cannot grow without trials though. The trick is to learn from them.

The house is now empty, but picked up, except for the basement. I hope to get there today. I've been working on getting prepared for the past few weeks. Lot's of catching up to do.

Now for Pics from the past few weeks ...

A Stroke of Luck!

2011-08-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

The Happy Couple.
The cake kiss. Brady said he didn't really taste the cake. It was all over his face.
Jackie got a mouth full.
Cutting the cake.
Sammie, he was practicing some kind of dance or karate during the music, when he was taking a break from being mean to Tralee. Little stinker.
Halee
Tralee taking a rest.
Brooklyn & Tralee
Hunter & Cecily. I thought they were so cute together, but Hunter would have nothing to do with getting his picture taken with Cecily.

Hunter & Tralee at the Crystal Inn
Tralee at Brother Keele's in her pretty dress.
Hunter at Brother Keele's playing with balls.
Joselyn & Tralee at the reception.
Tyler, Hannah & Cecily

Megan & Derrick
Young Hannah
Nikki
Leslie & Hunter. Leslie made her dress.

Steve, Lorraine & hmmmm, I forgot. But he is the newest Troy & JanaLynn Addition.
A close up of the newest family member.
My lovely Leslie.

Mom & Dad Stoehr
Shawna & James

Troy & JanaLynn
Brady & Jackie

Hunter in the hotel ready for swimming.
Tralee ready for swimming.
The brides sisters were supposed to wear black dresses with orange shoes. These shoes were nice! Not very comfortable though.
A close up of faces. From right Nikki, Halee, Megan, Shawna and Rachel.
Jack & Lorie - Parent's of the Bride
Jackie's Sisters, plus a little niece. From the left, Rachel, Shawna, Megan, Halee & Nikki. I did not realize that I don't even know how to spell some of their names. I'm bad!

Dustin & Heidi who were married a couple months ago.
Hunter & Tralee at the Temple Grounds

My niece Jackie was getting married to Brady. We met him at Heidi's wedding. Great guy, looks like he's a teenager. Jim could not go because they were updating the computers at JP Morgan and no one was allowed to miss work for the month of August. Leslie and I were trying to figure out how I could get out there to see them and have her go to the wedding with me. Things don't always or even seldom work out to my advantage, but this time Heavenly Father was generous. So was my son-in-law Jim who saw an opportunity to work things out for us. He gave up working a great show in one location so he could work the show in Sandy, Utah. It was the same weekend as the wedding. I was able to fly into Salt Lake, which was less expensive than flying to Boise, ID. Jim drove with the family to Salt Lake and I rented a car to haul us to the wedding and receptions. The hotel Jim found was great! It was a nice room with a little frig, king bed and hide-a-bed. They had a terrific breakfast buffet every morning and a nice lunch in the evening. We were never around for the evening meals, but I loved the breakfasts! We went swimming one morning, but the water was pretty cold and Hunter's little teeth were chattering so bad I took him back to the room for a nice warm bath.

I got in late Thursday evening, the 11th. I picked up the rental car and because it had a bunch of dings and scratches I had to go back and report them. I spent about 30 minutes trying to get my Google Maps and Sprint Navigation to work along with getting directions from the kids. I finally got it to work and that was a BIG accomplishment for me. Now I'm a true proficient. Everyone was asleep when I finally got there. The wedding was Friday so we headed to Bountiful and the sealing session was awesome. The guy who married them was someone Steve had been acquainted with in Arvada, CO. It was a very special spiritual experience. Hunter and Tralee played with their cousins outside under a tree (It was sunny and warm). The older cousins watched the little ones.

There was a luncheon following the wedding at Tucano's Brazilian Grill. We had to take the rental car back because it had a light on which said "Oil Change Required" and that was a real fiasco. It took forever and then we could not find that restaurant for the life of us. The GPS was not working for some reason. Just when I was ready to throw in the towel and go back to the hotel we saw it up the next street. We were an hour late, but my lovely sister Lorie held the sleeping Hunter so Leslie and I could eat. Tralee ate pretty well too. We missed most of the festivities, but we did enjoy the food.

Saturday we headed to Castle Dale for the reception at Jack & Lorie's. It was at a Bed & Breakfast where Jackie had worked. I helped with decorating a little, but mostly enjoyed visiting with family. The reception was great. The food was excellent. The cake was delicious!

Lorie had arranged for us to sleep at her home teacher's Saturday night. He has a large home and Tyler and Hannah stayed there too. Lorie served breakfast Sunday morning, delicious sausage casserole, fruit, juice, etc. We attended church Sunday and after church Jack & Lorie served Turkey & Ribs that Jack had smoked. All too soon we were heading back to the hotel where Jim was anxiously awaiting our return.

I really enjoyed Tralee and Hunter on this trip. They are very adorable and fun. They certainly both have their own personalities. They grow up so fast.

I need to work on my relationship with my daughter. I'm not sure why I feel less than competent around her and therefore I am less than competent and it makes for friction rather than enjoyment. I am generally not at all incompetent. Well, let's say I handle my incompentence better when I'm on my own. Oh well, food for thought and more work to perfect myself.

The flight out and back were uneventful. I had seating companions that were amicable for the most part plus I read a good historical book about Thomas Jefferson's slave daughter. It was enjoyable.

When I left work early on Thursday, the 11th, I left with a bunch of stuff left undone. When I returned, it was still undone. Also, to add to the problem, Tamara had not done EDI correctly and I had to redo most of that. I used to have instructions, but have no idea where they went. I thought she had typed up instructions, but she had not. She's got it down now though. On the bright side, today our boot rings got here. The locking ties should be in California by now so we should have them in 8-10 days. I hope to never run out of product again. Our new warehouse guy started a big reorganizing effort in the warehouse today and that is awesome. It's great to have someone with experience taking an interest in the organization of the warehouse.

Now for posting some pictures.

Shrimp & Scallops

2011-07-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

We had the best dinner tonight! I had taken shrimp and scallops out of the freezer this morning to thaw in the frig. I did them in a rack on the grill with seafood seasoning and butter. A couple minutes per side was all it took. Then I sauteed a zucchini from the garden which was great too. We finished off with a slab of watermelon.

I tried to download a video of the kids frog hunting, but after a half hour of no success I gave up.

Brady , Haylee & Master Frogs

2011-07-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

This is it folks. Frog Hunting.
It takes intense concentration.
And patience.
And perseverance.
Frog Hunting takes real team work.
This is a Master Frog according to Brady.
Another Master Frog.

You must be willing to brave the unknown.
And keep it up for a long time. Almost longer than a Grandma can take it.
Catching Fireflies.
Aren't they awesome?
Brady & his Mom playing Scrabble on the Ipad.
Haylee admiring her new Photo Album. She has done several pages already.

I went to Milwaukee for the weekend so I could attend Pauline's funeral in Madison. I left work about 2:30 pm on Thursday because the funeral was at 11 am on Friday. Jimmy came with me to the funeral. It was a very nice. We missed the viewing before and got there just in time. We spoke to one of Pauline's cousins regarding genealogy who ended up knowing Jimmy's counselor in the Elder's Quorum. Shawna, Pauline's granddaughter and her husband Mike came over and we talked to them for about a half hour after the luncheon. It was really nice to get to know them better.

I had started taking some digestive aids Wednesday which were recommended by Dr Poyle several weeks ago, but by Friday night I was feeling really awful. I took one Sat am, but then dc'd them. Not much better now though. I wish I knew what was going on. Jimmy gave me a wonderful blessing Sunday before I left Milwaukee. I know the Lord loves me, but I need to learn to deal with hardship and struggle, continue to learn and educate myself and above all stay close to the Lord and choose the best. I know there are always choices that are good and better, but we need to use our time to choose the best for us and our Father in Heaven so we can live with him again.

Sat am Amy and Haylee went to get a scrapbook for Haylee. She is really enjoying making pages,which she had learned about at Summer School.

Saturday evening I took the kiddos to Dr Park so Jim and Amy could watch a movie.

We played several games of Scrabble over the weekend. It is really fun on the Ipad.

Fourth of July

2011-07-05T17:11:00.000-07:00

Measuring the distance between the balls in Botchy. From right - Barb, Jim & Dave (bent over and measuring), Jim & Holly
Firepit Views

My Garden has Grown

A Fire in the Pit
Lucy in the left of the firepit area.
Jim & Charlene
Holly & Jim
Dave & Sue
From Right - Barb, Dave & Lucy in front of him, Jim, Holly & Jim
Firecracker Plant

It was really exciting to look forward to having a holiday and just hanging out at home with no long drive and being able to concentrate on getting some things done. That never ever goes the way I want it too though. I never ever accomplish 1/10 of my expectations. So sad!

We did have a nice fourth though. I got the house cleaned in the morning. We had our neighbors, Jim and Holly invited over along with Sue and Dave, Jim's Sister and Brother-in-Law and Holly's Mom. Jim did a Dry Rub Rib recipe he found on the new Weber App Jimmy sent him for Father's Day. They were GREAT! I made Costco Cole Slaw, Mom Stoehr's Baked Beans and a veggie tray. Jim & Holly brought a Watermelon hollowed out with all kinds of really good fruit and Sue and Dave brought corn on the cob. Barbara brought a really cute plant for the table top called a Fire Cracker.

Early in the day Jim went off to buy S'more material because we had none and we planned on building a fire in the pit later. He came home with miniature marsh mellows. He said they did not have large ones. Right! He decided to use a grill gadget we had to layer the stuff on and hold it over the fire. Unfortunately, the first group slid out when he turned the gadget. Two of the four were salvaged. He made two more, just to prove it could be done. The taster's admit they are better heated all the way through.

After eating and before the fire we played Botchy Ball. That was fun. Jim and I won both games we were in.

In other news, my beloved Pauline passed away. The funeral is July 8th. Jimmy is going to go with me. I am so glad Alice called and encouraged me to come see Pauline while she was still alive.

I called to see how Todd was doing and he was singing away in the background with his "Da da da". I had them put the phone up to his ear and he laughed and actually did some babbling back.

My niece Jackie is getting married August 13th and Jim just made arrangements for me to fly to Salt Lake. Luckily for me, Leslie will be coming with Jim that weekend to Salt Lake. Jim has a work assignment the same weekend. How fun is that. I will get to see my grandchildren.

Work has been unbelievable. We have a huge customer we had just finished getting extra orders out to last week. I had expected this week's orders to be a bit small considering. But no, we got some really sweet orders again this week. Purchasing has been a very real job these days. So far, we have managed to get the job done. I hope it stays that way.

Now for some pictures from the fourth.

New, Newer, Newest

2011-06-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

The firepit area with some plants and shrubs.
My little garden.
Jim Jr & family.

Another pose. I wonder why the lighting is so different.
My deck shrubs. I love these plants. They are a cousin to the Morning Glory.
The arrangement the Florest sent Pauline from Alice and I.

Alice & I in Pauline's room at Hospice Care.
Mr Todd. His countenance has much improved. I love this kid!
My flower pots in front of the house.
My handsome husband relaxing!

Another shot of the fire pit area.
Brady and Grandpa at the Club waiting for service.

Haylee coloring at the club.
Brady & Grandma at the Club.
This is the arrangement I made at the church after I filled out the back. The previous picture was just the front finished. I could not stand to put it in the church only half done so I finished it.

Jim, Amy, Haylee & Brady came down for a long weekend from June 10th through 13th. We had a few tentative plans that had to be cancelled because our Lovely Haylee had a bad episode with vomiting. I suppose it could have been a bug, except I purchased a plastic blow up bed with instructions that mentioned chemicals used to manufacture this product could be carcinogenic. The bed was really nice looking and comfortable, however it did smell strongly of chemicals. Haylee did vomit a lot the whole day after sleeping on it. I took it back. I slept on it too, but did not have any adverse reaction. No one else did either. We did go to to club on Friday night and the service was very slow. I think that happens every time we take them to the club. Next time I will call ahead and give them a heads up. My food was great! We wondered if it was the pizza Haylee ate, but other people shared her pizza and did not get sick.

There was an auction/fundraiser at church on Saturday night for the Boy Scouts. The Club donated two rounds of golf for the event. That was really great of them. Jim had expected we would have to fund that ourselves. It does not hurt to ask. Haylee and I stayed behind, but the rest had burgers at the church. I must admit, they brought me one and it was nothing to write home about. I suppose if I want the food to be more to my liking, I should volunteer to get involved.

I went to church on Sunday with Jim & Jimmy. Amy stayed home with the kiddos. After Sunday School I felt a strong impression to get back home and check on Haylee. We left church, and thank heavens, all was well at home. My imagination sometimes gets carried away.

Amy's friend was supposed to come with her children for a BBQ, but under the circumstances, that was pushed to Monday. We decided to grill burgers and brats anyway, and I would pick up pizza from Costco for Monday. Everything worked out fine. The old burgers my husband insisted we use on Sunday were pretty bad, so it was a good thing Deanne did not come until Monday.

I had a message from Sandy, Pauline's daughter on my phone Sunday. I called her back and she gave me an update on Pauline who is another Mom to me and Grandmother to my children. She is in a Hospice Care Facility for "end of life". She has cancer which began in her pancreas and has spread. She also has a blockage in her bile duct. At her age and with her condition they will do nothing because anything they could do would not prolong life. Sandy asked me to get in touch with Alice who is Pauline's other Foster daughter.

Deanne came with her four children on Monday. I worked in the am. Pizza was great! Jim, Jimmy & I went to Pettiti's for a stroll around. Jimmy was looking for the names of some shrubs he's anticipating for his yard.

I called Pauline. She admitted gratitude for any prayers we could send her way.

The kids decided to leave Monday night instead of Tuesday morning to avoid traffic and drive while the kiddos slept.

Alice got in touch with me Monday at work. We decided to send some flowers. They were very pretty. Alice flew into Milwaukee and drove to Madison on Thursday to see Pauline. She called and encouraged me to come as well. Jim and I talked about it and I made arrangements to leave Friday after stopping in at work to take care of a few things. I slept at NaNa's, but did go to see the kiddos first.

Saturday morning Alice and I hooked up at the airport. She rode with me to Madison to see Pauline and then came back with me to eat dinner with NaNa and Jimmy's family. Then I took her back to the airport to head back to Washington State. We had a nice reunion. The place Pauline is staying at is beautiful. She said she picked it out. They grow their own food, what they can. The grounds are stunning.

Leslie called Pauline, but Pauline did not remember. She did remember Jimmy calling her though.

I planned to stop and see Todd Sunday morning. NaNa made a nice brunch and fed us all before I left. Jimmy's family had Stake Conference at 10 am. When they left, he called and said my car was unlocked and he could not lock it. Oh No, I thought. The night before I had been sitting in the car listening to Water for Elephants when Leslie called. I turned off the CD player and totally forgot I had clicked the car key into the on position. I left the key in the ignition and the car unlocked for anyone to drive off in. What a goofball I am! Triple A got there within the hour and determined I needed a new battery. A nice young man.

Todd was so happy to see me. I felt really bad having to leave him. He did not want me to go. We shared a Mango Pineapple Smoothie from McDonalds, went for a couple walks and a ride in the car.

The ride up and back were uneventful. I did miss a turn somewhere in Chicago because I did not go on the Skyway. I paid no tolls going through Chicago. I made pretty good time too even with my delayed start.

Today at work Jimmy called to tell me he was going to see Pauline. He spoke to his boss at work and asked why it was OK to go to a family member's funeral, but not go to see them while they were still alive. His boss told him to go. Good for him. Pauline was very happy to see him. He said she hugged him for about a minute when it was time to leave. She did not want to let him go. Jimmy noticed the beautiful Orchid Pauline had on her windowsill and even conversed with her about it. That kid never ceases to amaze me. I did not even know he knew what an Orchid was!

I am feeling sad about Leslie and her family being so far away. I also wish I was closer to Haylee and Brady and could be a more prominent person in their lives. Todd was very alert and made strong eye contact this visit. He tried very hard to let me know he wanted to stay with me. It was pretty gut wrenching to leave him. I must get closer to my Heavenly Father so he can direct my paths. I want to be more involved with those things that matter in this life.

Floral

2011-06-01T18:29:00.000-07:00

Click on it to enlarge. See the veining on the vase.

The Tiger Lillies are not silk, but feel and look almost real.

For a few months now I have had permission to do a floral for the chapel at Lorain Ward. First I waited for permission, then I waited for budget info. Next I wanted some input from the Bishop's wife. I procrastinated so long that my husband finally came home from a Bishop's meeting with the name of a guy from another ward with floral experience. I called Mark and we talked about him helping me. He was willing. Then I just needed time to look for what I needed. I found a Michael's coupon and started there. I couldn't find a container, so I went to Marshall's. I found a beautiful vase that I thought would be perfect. Then I went back to Michael's. I picked out some stuff, but discovered if I waited until Memorial Day I could get 25% off the total purchase. They said I could put the stuff on hold. Meanwhile, Mark had mentioned Pat Catan's. I had not been there and we have one right off Lear Nagel and Center Ridge. I googled it and discovered they had 40% off everything on Memorial Day with their coupon. I went over on Monday and found what I thought was perfect after MUCH deliberation. It's a good thing I went alone. Once I got home and did some preliminary looking I decided I needed to purchase a few more things to make it right. Jim was not happy because he thought it would take me way to long, but I was back with what I needed in a half hour. they did not have one item I needed two of at Pat's so I had to go back to Michael's to pick those up. Today is Wednesday and I met Mark at the Stake Center where they were having a service night cleaning their building and grounds. I set up in the kitchen and Mark took the stuff I brought and with only a little supervision from me we created the arrangement above. I love it! It's gorgeous from the front. It's too bad the back will be seen by those sitting on the stand. Oh Well. It can't be helped. I suppose I could make it a full arrangement with more flowers, but we shall see how this goes over.

In other news ... my fire pit is about finished. The rotten deer found two of my flower pots and decided to eat the flowers off. My beans, peas, onions, and radishes are up. Might be more now, but I didn't get a chance to go look tonight.

We grilled steaks on Sunday and Brats on Monday. Both meals were GREAT! It was wonderful having a couple grilling days with no rain!

I discovered at a Relief Society function in May that Avon Lake has big bins of Sweet Peat free for the taking. They just do not want you showing up with a front end loader and carting off truckloads. It's from composted leaves. What a find! I am delighted. You can mulch or garden with it.

I've been indexing about 500 names a month. I like it. I really need to put time and energy into doing my family history too!

Work has been an uphill battle with EDI being my main source of distress. I finally sent a not very happy e-mail to the powers that control our set up. I certainly hope they fix it for me tomorrow!

I love hearing the birds singing in the morning.

We have been running the air conditioner. I think Jim feels we are too old to suffer. I am fine with it until the electric bill comes.

Hectic Life!

2011-05-10T18:32:00.000-07:00

Our new fire pit area. Still some beautification to be done. I've got a bird bath, some hanging plants and flower pots and my little garden to finish yet. Tonight I planted some grasses on the east side if they survive and this morning I finished the stone surround.
Here is my new and improved vegetable garden. It's bigger and better and I used the excess stones from this bed to surround the fire pit. The stones used to lay flat and be two and three tiers high. Now they stand up so I used less even though the garden is almost twice as big as it was. Tonight I bought some seeds to plant and onion sets.
Shawn, Jimmy's friend and his two children.
Haylee looking lovely with her pig tails. She likes to fix her own hair now. There was a time a few years ago that she did not want her hair fixed.
I believe she was examining the sugar cookies she and NaNa made here.
Todd and his Dad! He was so happy to see us!
Mom and son. I was so happy to see him!
Jimmy and Shawn with Shawn's children.
Brady with his numerous things going on all at the same time. The Ipad along with playing Golf with the cards.

Sadie the cat. When Grandma Stoehr and I came in around 1 am Thursday morning she was on the stairs and gave us a good hiss. I think it was Grandma Stoehr because she usually tolerates me these days.
Brady with a good view of the kitchen in the background.
Jimmy enjoying the Love Sac.
Grandpa Jim enjoying Jimmy's new leather chair and his own Ipad.
Haylee with her cookie works of art.

Work has been crazy, but today I got most of my headache projects figured out an handled. Yes! I can actually feel in charge of my responsibilities again.

On the funny side of work, Friday I told everyone over the intercom that Estes was bringing us lunch on Monday. Monday when I called our Rep from Estes she said, "Oh No, I thought it was next Monday!" Long story short, she was right. Meanwhile, I had called Nancy to pick up the birthday cake at Heinen's and she went to Heinen's and they could not find that darn cake. Yup, that was for next Monday too. I have no idea why I mixed those dates up, but we had a big laugh out of it. I ordered pizza and salads from Zeppes, plus we get lunch again next Monday. Everyone was happy.

Home is too busy. Yardwork, a house that needs attention, ironing and the list goes on. I love a lot of this and wish I could spend endless hours doing everything I like, but there are only so many hours in a day. I do what I can. At least life is interesting these days. Never a dull moment! The firepit area we did in the back yard looks good. It's not finished yet, but it will be nice once it is finished. It will get use once everything is done and we get some wood for burning.

A couple weeks ago Jim and I went to Milwaukee to spend some time with Brady and Haylee. They had Spring Break. That was awesome. They are great kids and we had a LOT of fun. Amy changed their kitchen around a bit and some other things and the house looks great!

We spent time with NaNa too. Jimmy had a pizza party at his home with us, his high school friend Shawn, Shawn's two children, NaNa and Mike & Mary. We got one to many pizzas, but I'm sure leftovers were enjoyed.

While we were in Milwaukee, Jim dragged me to the Relax the Back store. He was interested in their $3000 chair, but this time he wanted me to check out their $8000 bed! He gave in to my suggestion that he try a couple of their bed accessories that put your body in the same position that the bed would. $300 later, I worry even more about him sleeping because if this is supposed to make his breathing easier, it does not. It's worse. So far he can't sleep the whole night on his back so he does the first few hours and then sleeps normal. I guess it was worth a try. Maybe there is something out there for less than $8000 that would do the same thing.

The night we returned to Cleveland, we had Miss Lucy for the rest of the week. She really is a good dog. She listens and obeys well most of the time. She has not even been aggressive when other dogs are around. She was pretty interested in a herd of deer one morning though. Jim was good about walking with me some days.

We are up to clean the church facility this week. Two others are helping. I've been pretty pleased with the response of my assignment list. Most people are good about fulfilling their responsibilities. I'm also supposed to be making a couple floral arrangements for the chapel. I have a Relief Society function Thursday night and it looks like they gave me five sister to visit teach.

Happy Easter 2011!

2011-04-24T16:01:00.000-07:00

Our current Sister Missionaries ! They are adorable!
Holly at Easter Brunch. Her brother Rick is in the background making scrambled eggs.
Getting ready for the big eat with supervisors.
This was post dinner. From right to left, Rick, Jim, Dave, Barbara, Jim.
My husband, Jim Sr.
From left to right, Mom, Barbara and Jim.

Dave & Sue. They are preparing to take a trip.
Holly & Jim making preparations.

Table presentation before we ate. Beautiful!

Mom Stoehr has been here with us since Heidi's wedding. I think it was the second day she came out of her bedroom and said, "Can you find out how much it would cost for me to fly, take a train or a bus back home. I can't stay here for the rest of the month with nothing to do. She had spent the day before going through the basement collapsing boxes and generally straightening things up. It was a disaster area. Peg had already prepped me for just such a situation. She said, "You better have plenty for her to do or she will want to head home." Mom has a hard time sitting still, unless she is engrossed in as TV show or a book. Needless to say, I did not comply with her request. My mother has not been here to visit for ten years. I planned on keeping her for as long as I could. We did have a huge back yard project, putting in a fire pit and carting loads of small stones into the back yard. She was a big help in the back yard. She also helped with meals, watched TV, called her boys and sister, watched TV, read scriptures, ironed, folded laundry, washed some windows, etc. I think she had plenty to do. It is now Easter Sunday and we have her for three more days and she has not asked to go home for over a week now. I think I'm winning!

Our wonderful neighbors, Jim and Holly invited us over for Easter Brunch. Jim had to speak at church today. He presented a marvelous talk on the "Atonement" of Jesus Christ. Brunch began at 11 am. Of coarse, Sacrament Meeting ran over time and then the Bishop needed to speak with Jim before we could leave. It was 11 am before we left church. I called our Hosts and they said eating would probably not begin until 11:30 so we were OK. It was a glorious Easter Celebration. I was asked to give the blessing. Company was wonderful and so was the food.

We had the sisters over for dinner on Wednesday. I picked up my favorite pizza at Costco and we had a spinach salad. We have the sweetest, cutest sister missionaries in our ward right now.

I've been indexing Census Reports for genealogy and just finished doing several pages. I finished my goal of 500 for the month of April.

Work has been very busy. With work, home projects and church responsibilities, I need a few more hours in the days.

Heidi's Wedding

2011-04-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

Heidi & Dustin before the big day. This was at Steve's big Friday night Fish Fry to celebrate Grandpa Stoehr's 83rd birthday. Peg made Shrimp Scampi that was wonderful. Steve fried Haddock and Salmon outside. Mom and I cut up the fries and peeled the shrimp. Fun night. We played cards and caught up on everyone's goings on.
Grandma Stoehr and I were playing with editing in iphoto. Dustin did not look good in this picture so we had to cut him out. We think we did a good job on Heidi though.
Jim took a picture of the Denver, CO temple were the ceremony was performed. They sure have small sealing rooms here.
The newly weds after the ceremony.
This was dessert after the fish fry. Mom made a St Mary's cake. It was great. Had pudding filling and pineapple and dream whip.
Heidi's Grandma & Grandpa Furber. They let us stay at their house.
Peg spotted a hawk in Steve's front yard and we all had to have a look at it.
Grandpa Stoehr supervising at the reception set up. He also was chief clothespin handler. We needed to use clothespins to hold the plastic up on the wiring. It was a huge project!
Aunt Peg really hurt her neck with all the checking and repairing of the plastic rolls of decorations clothespinned to the wires.
Decorating in process.
Jackie Rogers and boyfriend Brady drinking Sundrop. Sundrop is a big favorite at family functions. Jack discovered it in Wisconsin and has loved it ever since. Now it is available nationwide. I just bought some at Marc's.

The Jack Rogers family, including Brady. Missing is Meagan.
Most of the wedding party. Note in the back row the first girl on the left, Stephanie. She is serving her mission, so they had a cardboard stand up figure made to represent her. It was really cute.
Cecily! She belongs to Tyler and Hannah. She is soooo cute. She finally warmed up to me and let me hold her. Her Mom and Dad were surprised.
Bridesmaids include two of Heidi's sisters, one sister-in-law and five friends.
The happy couple.

Heidi with her Mom and Dad.
Me and hubby at the luncheon. Jim was kind enough to wear his pink tie so he would match my suit.
The cake contest. These two had cake smashed all over each others face. Heidi's Dad thought they made quite a mess of the floor, not to mention their faces.
Joycelyn - Her mom made this dress out of the skirt, if I remember correctly.
Two of the Rogers girls. They are all beautiful!

We went from looking for airline tickets to driving to Denver, CO for Heidi's wedding. It is always such fun to get together with the family for celebrations like weddings. Heidi served her mission in Australia. She is an awesome young woman and I knew when she found Mr Right, he would be a lucky guy. She is pretty lucky too it turns out. They are both wonderful young people.

The drive out there was LONG. We took off after work on Wednesday evening. We stopped at several motels after midnight and they wanted $90 to $125 bucks and I was not willing to pay that much for a couple hours of sleep. It's easy for me to say, because I slept a LOT while Jim drove. He drove twenty of the hours and I drove four. Yes, it took us 24 hours with all the stops we made and the fact that Jim wanted to conserve fuel and did not drive over 60 miles per hour. I brought snacks so we did not stop to eat until Thursday morning. He took me to Cracker Barrel. It was to early for my favorite meal, but they let me get an egg with catfish and a side of fried okra. I was in heaven. We arrived in Denver a little after dinner on Thursday evening. Lorraine still had cabbage soup in the crock pot and it was wonderful. We slept over at Lorraine's folks in a spare bedroom and so did Peg. They have a BIG house.

Friday we went to Costco to pick up a birthday present for Dad. Steve was having a fish fry for dinner and we were celebrating Dad's birthday. It was fun. Food was awesome. Peg and I made Shrimp Scampi. Mom and I peeled two big bags of shrimp. LOTS of people there. We played cards. I was kind of brain dead towards the end of the cards. Jack and Lorie arrived with five of their six girls. That was great! Jackie brought a boy friend and I guess they are serious. We teased them a LOT.

We also had to decorate Dustin's Stake Center for the big reception Saturday evening. That took a long time. It turned out very romantic and nice though. The wedding was delayed because they did not have a big enough sealing room. When they finally crammed us into a sealing room, the presenter did a nice job, but forgot to have the couple positioned at the altar. Then when he was reminded, he said, "Well, I've only done a couple hundred of these." Dustin and Heidi were so adorable and the spirit in the room was wonderful. Lot's of picture taking on the grounds of the temple. It was a very nice day too. There was a lunch catered at Heidi's Stake Center by Dustin's parents. It was a Mexican food theme and very nice. Tyler and Hannah did a video for the occasion that was really neat.

The reception was pretty chaotic for those of us who worked the kitchen. Lori Rogers, Mom and I were kept extremely busy keeping the tables stocked. There were SO many people that came to support the newly weds and eat! We thought the lines would never end! I don't think they ever did, but once they slowed down to a crawl we left the kitchen in the capable hands of some gals that showed up specifically for that purpose.

Mom and Dad Stoehr were pretty worn out by the end of the day so Jim and I left to take them back to Steve's. Luckily for us, that meant we got out of take down and clean up. Unfortunately, Jack and Lori were not as lucky. By Sunday morning, Lori's back went out. Hope she is better now. Steve got her to his adjuster and she got a Priesthood Blessing.

We left after Sacrament on Sunday. Mom Stoehr came back with us. It is great to have her here, but she needs to be kept busy or she wants to go home. She is very efficient so it takes a LOT to keep her occupied. We did stop Sunday night and got a motel room. We went cheap and the beds were not that great. I did not sleep well. However, my hubby took us to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Mom and I had soup because I had packed sandwiches at Lorraine's suggestion. She is such a good hostess.

Monday morning Jim went to McDonald's and picked up some breakfast. We stopped at Steak & Shake for lunch and got home around 7 pm for popcorn and a movie. It was a whirlwind trip but lots of fun seeing beloved family.

Work has been so BUSY getting caught up. I'm getting there. We are also starting several projects at home so LOTS going on.

I need to post some pics now. Weather was GREAT today. We were able to work outside tonight.

Boise Trip

2011-03-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

Hunter is handing me a small magnetized piece from one of the little books I brought. There was one for numbers, one for shapes, one for first words and and one for colors. He really enjoyed playing with these, even more than Tralee.
I brought this outfit for Tralee with me. She loves the red top. I brought her a purple one too, but we could not get her out of the red and black. This girl certainly has a mind of her own and does not back down or negotiate. Hmmm, I wonder where she gets that from.
The little orange kitty Tralee is holding is in bad shape. It's ear and one arm have been bitten off by their dog Corky and there is a brand new Orange in the house, but this is the one Tralee loves. She does not want her Mommy to sew Orange up either because it might hurt.
Mother and daughter. Beautiful!
Mother and son. Hunter is a pretty serious child generally from what I can tell.

Grammy Char Char with the two darlings.
Tralee would rather have stories read to her than play with the magnetized books. There was a Daddy's Little Girl, Daddy's Little Boy and I think one about My Mommy is Great and My Daddy is Great. They were cute.
Adorable!
Precious!

I finally have something to blog about and Leslie stole my thunder. No matter, she is my daughter and I love her. Anyway ...

I was very excited to book my airline for Boise because I was able to work all day Thursday, catch a 7 pm flight and arrive in Boise a little after 11 pm. However, it did not quite go like that. We arrived at the airport on time. I had two bags. There was a duffle bag and a "Green" bag that I put my purse in along with some cute books that would not fit in the duffle bag. These two bags were heavy!!! Once I was waiting for the flight, I discover because of weather conditions elsewhere the plane is not there and neither are the pilots. Soon it looks like we will be delayed. I only have a one hour layover in Chicago so things are looking grime. They assure me that it is possible that plane will be delayed as well. We finally board and by then it is snowing in Cleveland and the plane has to be safety checked once it gets there and de-iced. Great! We take off and I get to Chicago only to discover my new United plane took off ten minutes earlier and there is not another one until the next afternoon. Then they tell me that one is full, I would have to go standby. The next one after that I could get on will get me to Boise at 7 pm Friday evening. What a bummer! That airport was like an ice cube. I could not sleep because I was too cold. At about 1 am I finally had a great idea. Why not put multiple layers of clothing on. I went into the bathroom and put another pair of slacks on and a total of four shirts. I had only brought a fall jacket along. At four am people began to arrive at the airport so I went back to Continental and asked a nice lady if she could recheck flight info. She said I could get a flight out at 6 am to Denver and there would be a slim chance I could catch an 8:30 am to Boise; however if that failed there was an 11 am that would get me to Boise by 1 pm. That was better than what United had led me to believe the night before. United had me going through San Francisco and getting to Boise after 3 pm the next day. The nice lady also gave me food coupons so I could eat breakfast. Unfortunately, my plane left before the good places to eat opened. That was OK. I did get some good snacks.

Once I got to Boise it was great. The kids both love me. Hunter is so adorable. He will walk up to the couch when I'm laying on it and just reach to come and lay down by me. Sometimes he will reach for me to pick him up and lay his head on my shoulder. A couple times he wandered into Tralee's room during the night and laid in bed next to me. Tralee would wake up in the night and see me laying next to her and get a big smile on her face. Tralee was talking to her Mom Saturday morning and said, "Grandma looks like a boy because she has short hair." I asked her after I showered and put some make up on if I still looked like a boy and she said she changed her mind. Maybe I didn't look like a boy with make up on.

On Saturday, Leslie made reservations at Tuscano's Brazilian Grill. It was a great place to eat. I love to eat when the food is good. Eating is one of my favorite things to do. The food was good. They have a huge buffet and then they have a grill and multiple servers who bring meats, fruits and vegetables around from table to table and if you want to try something they cut a slice off or push some of what is on the skewer onto your plate. We ate our fill and the children did a good job too.

After that we went to Tangled at the $2 theater. We really enjoyed it. Leslie went to get the pop corn and came back with two bags of popcorn and drinks. How did she do that? I thought she had Hunter too. Maybe I had Hunter. Anyway, she asked me to hold the popcorn and in the dark I missed one of the bags and it dumped out on Tralee's chair. Leslie got another bag though without having to pay. Leslie had to leave with Hunter a few times, but she had seen the movie already.

Leslie did a couple Gourmet meals. Friday night she made some kind of Oriental Soup (very spicy) with Beer Bread and Sunday she made some delicious Marinated Ham with Spinach Salad, Broccoli and Scalloped Potatoes. It was great! She really puts effort into her main meals and I enjoyed being the beneficiary.

Sunday I went into the Nursery with Hunter. That was entertaining. They have a LOT of little ones and Hunter is about the youngest. He did pretty good overall, but kept waiting for play time and when it finally got there he was so interested in getting the toys he wanted that he held them tightly to his chest and did not get to play with them. He did finally play some, but you could tell that some of the children grab stuff and he must have been taken advantage of in the past.

Monday Leslie and I took the kids to a park and then went to McDonalds. We had planned to go to an outlet mall but just about the time we were to head over we discovered Leslie had not changed the clock in her car for daylight savings and we did not have time. We needed to get me to the airport. However, I was delighted to find that she went after dropping me off and got some really good deals and cute outfits for the kids. They really needed a few things and I was happy to be somewhat a part of it.

The plane rides home went without a hitch except on the long trip I sat next to a lady that blew her nose about 100 times. I sure hope I don't catch something. I read a Harlequin Romance which I have not done in a long time. That was enjoyable.

I came home to a week with Miss Lucy and she is being such a good guest this week. She is a pleasure to have around.

We fed the Sister Missionaries Pizza yesterday. I asked Costco to give me 3/4 Combo and 1/4 Pepperoni and they mixed it up. I was annoyed! No matter, because everyone made sure I got the Combo part.

Time for bed and I still have to take Lucy out for a walk. Must post a few pics first.

Flood

2011-03-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

I should have had my camera charged and with me Monday on the way to work. The sump pump was running all night, non stop and it was raining and warm and the warm rain was melting all the snow. I left for work and went out the back exit. When I got to Lear Nagel and saw cars going down the road, they were driving through over a foot of water. The road could not even be seen. In the ravine water was over the top. The whole area on the other side of the road looked like a lake. Wow! I pulled out into the road, but after watching the traffic for a minute I decided to turn around (thankfully I could, just barely) and found another route to work. Luckily, by evening, the sun had been out a bit in the afternoon and much of the water had found a lower level to reside. We were lucky our pump worked so hard all night. We have an alternate pump, but have never even opened the box. We really should get more prepared. Two employees did not make it in because of the flooding and another one came in at noon. It was pretty scary when I was trying to decide how to get to work. Then the temperature plunged. It was an interesting experience. That's all folks!

Well, I Suppose

2011-02-27T14:06:00.003-08:00

I want to take a nap. I need one. This past week I've been waking up and my mind won't go to sleep. I've had to do reviews at work and I also did a self appraisal which caused a lot of hard thought. I also had an employee from the warehouse ask me to help them with their appraisal. All in all, I think everything went well. I did not realize until I wrote some things down how much I feel left behind at work. Not that I'm doing anything wrong, but that I've not been given opportunities to excel in areas I have expertise. I'm not sure if I can do anything about that besides extend the olive branch and see if the powers that be recognize it for what it is and provide opportunities for me to contribute. In any event, I really love my job. I'm good at what I do. I feel I could do more if given the opportunity.

The employees I reviewed accepted my praise and criticisms well and I feel we benefited from the interview. Now the bosses need to do their reviews and I guess we will find out what is what. I see the wisdom in these opportunities of self examination and employee examination. They can be productive.

This past week I learned how to index. Two sisters from church came over and helped me get started. It's part of the genealogy program at church. We download census reports and other documents from the past and enter them into special reporting documents that allows them to be uploaded on the computer. Each document must be input twice and then merged and if there are discrepancies, an arbitrator needs to look at the disputed entry and determine which is correct. There sure is a lot of work put into this by our church. Our stake has committed to doing one million (persons, I think) or is it documents this year. Our ward committed to 300,000 I believe. It's fun, but sometimes very hard to read someone's handwriting from ages ago.

Jim and I went to the Cheesecake Factory last night. It was great again. I love that place. The food is exceptional. I ordered a El Grande Burrito and have enough for lunch tomorrow. Jim got an omelet. That's pretty unexciting, but he had some of my burrito so could not finish his omelet and had the rest for breakfast this morning.

I had six loads of laundry yesterday. Wow! That is a lot for me. Jim has me do some of his shirts for work, and I have to admit, they look better than the ones done at the laundry. It's best to iron them while still damp though.

Today I put pork chops in the crock pot with onion and mushroom soup. It smelled great when I got home from church. Didn't taste bad either.

So far, my duties to organize the cleaning of our ward building is going pretty well. In January I began making assignments and each family only needs to clean about once every six months. There are very few of us that have to clean more than that. I haven't had anyone say, "Forget it, I'm not doing it!" yet. Time will tell.

We have permission to get a couple nice florals for the chapel now. No budget yet, but a few ideas from the Bishop's wife. I will have to start looking things over at Michaels.

I'm getting excited about going to visit my grandchildren in Boise in a little over a week. I can't wait to have a few days to play with those little ones.

My whole visit teaching route has been pulverized. I no longer have a couple sisters that I thought I was influencing in a positive way. However, our new Relief Society president listened to my reasons and said they would rethink and possibly make some changes.

I feel bad for my hubby. His life has not been easy for a long time. He should be thinking about retiring shortly, but is working six days a week with his regular job and now has a job at church that requires him to get up early Sunday morning and stay after church to take care of clerk responsibilities. Now tonight, instead of relaxing for a few hours, he has to go back to the Stake Center for a leadership meeting.

I think it's nap time. Can't think of anything more exciting than that! Happy Days!

2011-02-27T14:06:00.001-08:00

Brief Update

2011-01-30T13:23:00.000-08:00

Went to the Columbus Temple last weekend with Jill, Mary Beth and Regina. I did initiatories first and like the last time, there were two individuals I did the work for that the spirit was really strong. I asked if I could do the endowment for one of them, but apparently our temple does not have that permission, so the answer was no. However, the individual I did the endowment for really wanted her work done too. It was a spiritual experience. To make it even better, Jill was my associate at the veil. We stopped at Wendy's on the way home and the gals said next time we can go to Cracker Barrel. Jim said he would pick up the tab for us because the girls drive and will not let me pay them anything for gas. In February, they might be going down on Friday night. I will have to see how that goes. Maybe it would be fun to do an overnight.

Heide Stoehr, a niece, is getting married in April at the Denver CO Temple. She served her mission in Australia. Awesome young woman. I've been keeping my eye's open for reasonable air fare. Dad Stoehr wanted us to pick them up in Milwaukee and drive out to Denver. That would be 24 hours on the road. No thanks, not after Jim just had an episode with his back. His Doc did some procedure and he's doing well now, but we don't need to take any chances. I hope we can find some reasonable airfare.

Jim, Amy, Haylee and Brady are at Wisconsin Dells this weekend for their Baker Family Christmas celebration. They will be at an indoor waterpark. I am sure they will be having a wonderful time. Can't wait for Amy to blog about it and post pictures.

Jim, Leslie, Tralee and Hunter are in California. Jim's latest job is there so Leslie and kiddos flew to spend several days there. She will be able to hook up with Meagan and her family. How fun is that?

Work has been a jungle lately. Seems like everyone is getting along better on the surface. I just do not understand why we can't all be wonderful and loving one towards another. I'm working on loving everyone, worldwide! It's a challenge!

Jim had to do a fifth Sunday presentation today at church. His subject was on Provident Living and centered on getting our finances in order. He did a good job. Several people commented to me that they appreciated his presentation. He's down on the couch sawing logs right now.

I have Miss Lucy this week. We have had a few good days, but last night she was acting weird. She kept licking her chops under the covers until I thought I would never get to sleep. I finally took her outside after 11 pm, walked her home and she was perfectly content to stay there. She did try to indicate to me she wanted to go for a ride in the car; not only at her house, but at ours as well. She was fine this morning and happy to see me.

We had the missionaries over on Wednesday. Starting in February, we cannot have the four over all at once. I will have to have missionary dinners twice a month now. I thought we had a pretty good meal, but with six of us we did not even finish one Costco Chicken. At Costco I did wait for the new batch of chickens because when I got there the old batch was really scrawny and burned. The new ones were awesome. I bought two because there were four missionaries. I have had to make Chicken Divan and Chicken Enchiladas with the extra chicken. I was surprised at how little they ate. I picked up Jim's Red Delicious Apples at Costco because they had a coupon and wanted to send some with the missionaries, but they all wanted my Granny Smith Apples. Rats! Oh Well, yesterday, Jim cut one of his up, and for a Red Delicious they were quite tolerable.

Better get onto more important things! Later...

Bishopric Dinner 2011

2011-01-09T15:51:00.000-08:00

My new dishes. The dinner plates, dessert plates and bread plates are all square. The soup and salad bowls are round. They are dish washer and microwave safe. Dessert plates are not pictured, but I have the butter on a bread plate.
Here am I posing before the big event.
Our new bishop and his wife. They are a perfect couple. They brought their baby and all their children are just as beautiful as they are.
This is the only picture I have with Jim in it.
This is one of the Bishop's Counselors and his wife. They had some fun stories about when they went to Africa to pick up their son from his mission.
This is the Bishop's other counselor and his wife holding the Bishop's baby.
This is the Bishop's Executive Secretary and his wife. What a great group of people. We should do this more often.

A couple months ago we changed Bishops in our Ward. Prior to this, my husband was called to be the Ward Clerk. This means he is a helper for the Bishopric. He decided it would be a good idea to host a dinner for all the new guys and their wives; ten people including us. He thought I should make Chicken Marsala. I am good at that. However, it has alcohol in it, which I was not sure everyone would think was appropriate. I also think it is too much work for a group of ten.

I realized I no longer had ten dinner plates with my every day dishes. I could use my good China, but it is all flowery and we had been thinking about getting some new everyday dishes for a while now. I saw some at Costco that were unique. However, they were $49.95 for a set of four. I did not think about it any more. Last week when I was shopping for the dinner I happened to walk by these same dishes and they were $19.97. I called Jim and he said if I wanted them I could get them. I debated for several minutes, and finally left the store with them.

Jim had planned the dinner before the holidays, but one couple could not make it, so it was rescheduled for January 8th. About one week before the event we realized that Jim had a colonoscopy the day before and I had a dental procedure on the 8th. Bummer!

I thought Jim should do a Prime Rib Roast like he used to do for our kids birthday parties back in the day. I could make NaNa's twice baked potatoes, the Oriental Salad recipe NaNa discovered several years back and some Costco green beans. For dessert, this would give us the opportunity to buy that big Chocolate Cake from Costco that Jim has been craving.

Jim's procedure went off well, my dental work was quick and with almost no pain. Our dentist is awesome. He's also our neighbor where we enjoyed a super New Year's Eve.

I unpacked my new dishes and washed them, extended my table and looked for a table cloth. Luckily, I found one that worked in the closet on the third floor. I have no idea where the pretty green one is that goes with my green cloth napkins. Extended, my table needs something like a 120" cloth. Well, I had no cloth napkins to go with my new dishes. I stopped over at Kohls looking for closeouts and found some green ones and some off white. I would need two packs of each and that would be over $20 on sale. I put them back. I headed over to Marshalls. What luck! I found some beautiful deep red napkins that would work. There were two packs left and each had six napkins. Each pack was $5.99 on clearance. They are beautiful!

Thursday night I made the twice baked potatoes. NaNa said about one hour in the oven. I left them in over an hour and a half and they were still pretty rock like when I was scooping them out. It was dreadful. Luckily, my wire whip on my Kitchen Aid mixer beat them pretty smooth. Next time I make those things, I will be wiser.

Friday night I stopped at Costco and they had one 10 pound roast. My table was set, I made the Oriental Salad Crisp and had everything ready that could be ready. Saturday I finished cleaning, we picked up the cake and did some grazing at Costco for lunch.

We had a wonderful dinner, I was pretty prepared for me and the guests seemed to really enjoy themselves. This was a big deal for me as it's been a long time since I hosted anything this size and did not have NaNa there to supervise. She would be proud of me!

New Year's Eve

2011-01-02T14:24:00.000-08:00

Our adorable Host & Hostess - Jim & Holly!

Sue (Jim's Sister) & Pearl (Jim's Mom)
Holly & Jim L
Dave (Sue's hubby) and Me!

Pearl, Holly, Lucy and Jim H

A few weeks back I asked our neighbors what they were doing for New Year's Eve. I had hoped we could get together, supposedly at our house. However, Jim said his Mom was in town and his sister and brother-in-law were coming over and why don't we join them. Better than expected, for sure. Not only that, but they were serving Surf and Turf. We had great snacks, an awesome meal and then introduced them to Golf (the card game). We had a lot of fun. Everyone that played, loved the game. Dave did not play, but kept score and Sue did not play, but was the cheering section. Holly won and I came in second. We only played seven rounds. At five rounds it was midnight and Pearl, Jim H's Mom was past her bedtime. The really great thing was that the next day was Saturday and Jim and I both had off. I had cleaned the house Friday and I trimmed some shrubs on Saturday while Jim hogged the computer.

I rearranged the guest bedroom earlier this week and really like it. I got a few new plants too. Norfolk pines, which I am hoping will do great in our 55 degree house. Home Depot had them left from Christmas and they were marked from $17.95 to $7.99. Now I still have four or five plants I want to replace, because the new ones make some of the old ones look bad. I do hate to throw any living thing away though.

I was so happy with the guest room rearrangement, that I wanted to rearrange our bedroom. This was all because Amy had a great idea to rearrange her kitchen and she gave me the bug. I was really bummed when I realized that I could not do what I wanted in the bedroom because if I moved the bed, we would not be able to see the television. I could not move the TV because it needed special hook ups. I finally came up with a plan that allowed me to make some changes without moving the TV and just moving the bed slightly. Anyway, Jim likes the changes and so do I.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-02T13:33:00.000-08:00

Mr Todd and his Mom & Dad Sunday, December 26, 2010.
Brady checking out his new cash register.
Haylee and her present from Aunt Leslie. Hope this makes all her future dreams happy!
Brady in charge of passing out Christmas presents at NaNa's.
From left, Kevin, Uncle Mike, Jim Sr and Jim Jr after NaNa's brunch.
Jim Jr and Amy at NaNa's.
Brady and Haylee Christmas morning.
Brady & Haylee, not sure when?

Jim let me talk him into driving to Wisconsin Tuesday night instead of leaving Wednesday morning. He drove all the way and I did a lot of sleeping. I love that I can sleep very well in the car. He has his radio to listen to though. That was really a great investment. It's Serius or something like that and we paid for the service up front for the life of the car and he can get TV shows, all kinds of music and it's very cool if you are on a long trip and not sleeping. Having Wednesday-Sunday in Wisconsin was nice! We usually don't get three extra days.

We were going to do Chinese on Wednesday night, but Jimmy said Amy and the kids had Chinese the night before so could he not make dinner at his place. He could do Chicken Alfredo. It was great! NaNa even came along, but the house was to cold for her. We had leftovers Thursday night and they were just as good! My son is GREAT in the kitchen. It's a good thing too because Amy is not that excited about kitchen duty. She only eats a few things and that is just to stay alive. Eating is not the joy for her that it is for the rest of us.

Thursday, we went to Cedarburg to pick out a burial plot for Todd. If two of us are cremated, Jim, Todd and myself can all go into one burial plot. I like that idea!

Christmas eve was at Mike & Mary's and that was great. Mary and her Mom (NaNa) are both exceptional event planners and cooks. Christmas Eve I slept at Jimmy & Amy's so I could be there for Christmas morning with Brady & Haylee. It was a lot of fun. I felt bad when I read Leslie's blog about how she told her children the Christmas story and we did not really do that on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I hope we remember to do that next year. After all, it is the reason for the season! We played some Golf (the new card game we learned at Stoehrs) and bowling on the Wii.

Christmas Day was brunch at NaNa's. Everything was delicious! We went to our traditional Christmas Day movie. The guys won out and we went to True Grit which was a flop in my opinion and I think everyone elses. We even had to drive half way across the city because when we got to the first theater they were sold out. The girls wanted "The Tourist" which had drama and adventure so I bet the guys would have liked it. Next year it will be the "girls" choice!

Before I knew it, our time in Wisconsin was at a close. Jim & I decided we would forgo Sacrament meeting in lieu of doing some housekeeping for NaNa. It has become increasingly difficult for her to do some of these activities and since we were there messing the place up, it was only fitting that we help out in that regard.

Jimmy's family came to NaNa's after Sacrament Meeting and we had another NaNa brunch to clean up leftovers. We sure did a good job of that. There is nothing like NaNa's Christmas brunch.

We stopped in Racine to visit Todd and he was so excited to see us as usual. He has a great staff that take care of him and we are so grateful for that. Jim drove all the way home. NaNa packed us a great lunch. We made good time and it is good to think about a short work week because I have Friday (New Year's Eve) off. Two long weekends in a row. What could be better.

DEI Christmas Party

2010-12-20T16:28:00.000-08:00

The DEI Christmas Party was held at Red Tail again this year. I was surprised, because the last few years the club has managed to bungle something up each time. Last year it was Dave's steak and they did not do anything about it! New people this year. I hounded them mercilessly reporting every mishap over the past four years in the hopes that they would not repeat any of them. We reserved the Carnegie Room this year which is twice as big as the room we used in previous years. They did a great job with the decorations. Tom even came this year. Dave's boys came for the first time too. There were 32 of us and it was a really nice party and the food was great. I did hear a few complaints about the Pasta Bar so chances are that will not be an option if we are there next year. Jim had the Tenderloin and I had the Sea Bass. Another choice was Chicken Cordon Bleau. We had a secret Santa exchange and Tamara had my name and got me a cute picture frame about love & families and a frame about grandchildren being a blessing. Dave and Nancy got all the non employee men a great flashlight set and the woman a beautiful Christmas Candle and nice makeup case. We also got our paystub and another paystub that was a bonus. I was very grateful and especially excited to read the comments Nancy wrote in my card about my dedication to the job and my value to the company. It was a great night! James brought his new fiance. It has been a long lonely time for him hoping for the right girl to come into his life. We are all so happy for him.

Thanksgiving 2010 Highlights

2010-12-05T12:48:00.000-08:00

Nancy let me take off work early on November 24th so we left around 1 pm and headed for Milwaukee. We stopped over at Jim & Amy's first. I found two cute tie dyed T-shirts for Brady & Haylee and took their Christmas Nativity Box over. It was the one I made at a Relief Society craft day. It took like the whole day to make it too. Brady & Haylee will have to give it back after Christmas so I can fill it next year. NaNa was prepared to feed us when we got there, but we were not hungry. We brought plenty of snacks.

Jimmy has this new Herbal Tea Pot and some awesome tea flavors with nutritional values. He made me a cup of tea with coconut and some other stuff that was delicious! That son of mine never ceases to amaze me with the things he comes up with!

We got up early (8 am) Thursday morning and headed for Grandma & Grandpa Stoehrs. NaNa even came along. Although she admits she loves the city more than the country, she was a good sport about spending a little over a day in the Northwoods.

The darn turkey did not want to get done, so we ended up eating a bit later than we would have, but the dinner was great. Mom always has at least one dessert per person. It's amazing. NaNa made the Pecan Pie. Mom thought she bought me a Cheese Cake for my birthday (the 28th) and I wondered why it had carrots on it. We had a good laugh when I cut into it and it was actually a carrot cake. I had a good laugh when brother David dropped his buttered bread butter side down on the kitchen floor. David is a lot of fun to have around. Why that was so funny heaven only knows, but it feels good to laugh.

Some of us went for a ride to see the sights of the Northern Woods. I love the beauty of the country. I love looking at the old family farms. Most of them are dormant now. How sad is that!

We headed back Friday after eating leftovers and stopped at Laney's for cheese. Love those curds and smoked string cheese. We even got back in time to drop Jim's shoes off at Alan Edmonds. Only problem is they charge more to repair now than to buy a new pair. I wish Jim had taken the time to look at the new shoes, but he was anxious to get back. We stopped at Costco, filled the tank and got a couple groceries. They give customers a free cook book on Thanksgiving too. I have two of them now.

Friday night I slept with Haylee and Brady joined us on a cot in Hay's room. Saturday, Amy came with me to shop for Brady & Haylee for Christmas. Thanks to Amy we could have quit after three stores, but she continued on after dropping me off.

Saturday evening, NaNa made a great Hamloaf and Pork Tenderloin dinner to celebrate my birthday. Mike, Mary and Kevin came over for dinner and we played "Golf". That's a card game we learned up north. It's fun and Brady is pretty good at it. There is no shortage of mirth with Mike and Kevin around. It was fun!!!!

Sunday we went to Sacrament Meeting, back to NaNa's for breakfast and then on the road to see Todd and head back to Cleveland. Todd looks happy. We had a great visit. The trip through Chicago was agonizing. Jim was beside himself. It took over two hours. Luckily for me I slept through a LOT of it. Jim did go through the city though and should have gone around. Back home all was well.

This was some of our land when Dad & Mom owned the farm.
Playing Golf after dinner.
Eating lunch on Friday.
Here is a shot of the Grant Stoehr farm from a distance.
Me and my hubby down in the basement, which Mom has fixed up like a huge family room. It a great place to rest, relax, play or sleep. Two TV's, one for watching and one for playing games.
I have about ten pictures similar to this one with Brady's eyes closed. He did not want me to get one with his eyes open. I lucked out!
Amy & Haylee at NaNa's.
A close up of the old farm house where I grew up.
NaNa up north. She says she likes the city better, but she seemed to like the country alright. She got to rest from her labors for once. She did bring Raspberry Crepes and Coffee Cake for Friday morning breakfast in addition to the Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving day.
Grandma & Grandpa Stoehr. Our Host and Hostess. It's always wonderful to go visit them. They are awesome!

Prime Rib Dinner

2010-11-22T17:30:00.000-08:00

The Club hosted a Prime Rib Dinner Friday the 19th. Since Nancy needed to come and check out the larger room for the Christmas Party she and Dave W met us there for dinner. We spoke to Lori at the Club and got things settled. We are going to try the larger room this time. I certainly hope the food is exceptional this year and they don't do anything to disappoint me. Our dinner was quite good. Jim & I even split a dessert.

Dave had an office meeting today to discuss things like abusing the internet and personal calls and wondering around instead of being in one's office working. Tardiness was mentioned as well. I am happy to report that I've not been late in over a month. It's because Jim comes with me to work out now and I can't stay as long so I have more time to get ready than I used to.

I paid the credit cards last night. That was not a pleasant experience. I pray we have a much leaner expense column next month. I'm tired and going to bed and it's only 8:37. Good night!

Weekend Highlights

2010-11-14T16:44:00.000-08:00

Friday evening Jim and I were going to take out a burger and pizza from the club. When I called from Costco to order, they transferred me to a number that said to call back later. I decided we might as well just go to the Club and eat rather than do a take out. The service was very slow, however, the burger and pizza were great. In the end they gave us a free dessert because of the slow service.

I got up around 4 am to go to the temple on Saturday. I had signed up for initiatories and two endowment sessions. Jill and Mary Beth only stay for two sessions now, so I had to cancel the third session I was signed up for. I love initiatories. I did ten of them. I was scheduled to do seven, but then I was told an area authority was there and wanted two individuals done and I was able to do them. The first one I did as I went through the various phases the tears just ran down my cheeks and I could tell the spirit I was doing the work for was very grateful. Then when I was almost finished with my seven, I was asked if I could please do one more for a person who wanted to take this relative through the endowment session. I was happy to oblige. As I was going through the different checkpoints this time, I was totally overwhelmed by the spirit. I used to think it was my mood, or frame of mind that determined this experience. Now I feel sure that it is the acceptance or rejection of the spirit I am doing the work for that determines my response. Some of the names I did initiatories for I had to struggle to stay on task. It gave me a new perspective on temple work and the blessing it can be for us to grow spiritually when we act as a conduit for those who have gone before. Those who are receptive, are there in spirit and it is a beautiful experience.

Last Sunday Jim and I were not at our ward because of the family wedding in Chicago. However, the congregation was asked to be there this Sunday because there would be a change in our bishopric. Today Bishop Hatch was released and I imagine he is heaving a sign of relief. We were asked not to speculate, but hey, get real. Our new Bishop Young was one of my contestants, however I feel the overwhelming load this young bishop has to wield now. I'm sure he has a stressful job, he also has five adorable young children. He does have an amazing wife who is also our Primary President. Sometimes change is good. I feel this will be a good change for our ward. We have several wonderful young families in our ward.

While our new bishop was speaking, my stupid phone starts playing it's new melody. It's like a funeral durge. Luckily, it was enclosed in my purse so it was not overly loud. It was my sister Lorie. Jim said I better call because she would not be calling me at church unless it was an emergency. She wanted to ask us to fast and pray for Meagan who is about to have a new baby boy and they just discovered the baby is breach. Of course we want to be part of this family endeavor for Meagan.

That's all folks.

The Wedding & Reception

2010-11-10T18:47:00.001-08:00

We took the opportunity to visit Todd on Saturday. He was delighted to see us and we had a nice walk, ride and shake after lunch. He looks good and seems happy. That makes us happy!

Amy did not arrive until Saturday. She wanted Brady to finish his last flag football game. However, he was not feeling that great so he did not play, but their team did win. Amy loves taking naps, and got to Chicago in time to do so. Isn't she lovely!
A shuttle picked us up at our hotel to take us to the Cathedral. We went with several other's from the hotel. Even though it was only a three block walk, because of the one way streets it took about 10 minutes to get there. A Saturday evening service was ending and we were told we had about 1/2 hour to perform the ceremony before another service began. Fr Knippel was brought in from St Eugene's to perform the ceremony. I used to work for Fr Weber at St Eugene's. The Cathedral was beautiful. The music was incredible, soloist angelic. I had been wondering how they could outdo the previous nights experience. I was not disappointed.
Father of the Bride. He is a great guy!
The cathedral. Wow, beautiful!
Gen had seven maids of honor and Brian had his brother, his BF Andy, Gen's brother and Gen's Uncle.
A glimpse of the ceremony.
Jimmy & Amy all dressed up.

Husband and wife. The knot is tied. They were so happy and all the guests could feel the joy of the occasion.
Standing outside at the reception. There were big gas lanterns keeping things warm. It was an experience.
A look at the reception area before the guests arrived. Breathtaking!
The band was great. So was the cake. Different layers were different flavors. We tried the chocolate with raspberry filling and the banana with vanilla filling. Both were delicious.

Dave and Annie. Dave is brother to Michael, father of the groom.
Mike & Mary, parents of the groom.
Bride & Groom, Brian and Genevieve.

Jimmy & Amy in their finery.
Jim and I in our finery.
Bride dancing with her father and groom dancing with his mother.
There was a big dessert buffet out in the lobby in addition to the wedding cake. This was about a quarter of it.
Maid of Honor's bouquet's. This is where we picked up our name tags that told us what table we were sitting at. Below is our table. NaNa is sitting next to Jimmy and Dave and Annie are on the other side of the table.
The floral arrangement at the Sunday morning brunch.
Jim and I at the Sunday morning brunch.
Jim and Amy at the Sunday morning brunch.
Some of the food Sunday morning. There was also an omelet bar, not pictured. It was great!
This is the table we sat at. There was a whole room on the other side of the food area. That was already full by the time we got there. I wish I could have eaten more. Food was great.

All good things must come to an end. This was the most glorious wedding experience I have had the pleasure of attending. The family Brian married into are genuine and gracious. It is a weekend we will all long remember and talk about in the family as time goes on.

A Magnificant Celebration Begins Nov 4, 2010

2010-11-10T16:59:00.000-08:00

Several months ago we received a postcard asking us to save a date for the wedding celebration of our nephew, Brian. I have known this young man since he was a baby. Just about the time I thought marriage was nowhere in his plans he meets a wonderful young woman. They dated for a LONG time, but finally the announcement that they were engaged. The family was thrilled. Little did we know how things would go or we would have been ecstatic!

The celebration was this past weekend in Chicago, IL. It started for out of town guests on Thursday, November 4th at the Art Institute (we were not able to attend this function). Friday was the Rehearsal Dinner in the Ivy Room at Tree Studios. Saturday was the wedding at Holy Name Cathedral followed by a reception at The Peninsula. Sunday morning was a brunch at the Peninsula in the Park Rooms. I think the best way to tell how memorable this event was is with pictures. which are to follow ...

This was how our drive from Avon, Ohio to Chicago, Illinois looked. We drove through a blizzard part of the way in Indiana.
When we checked into our hotel room, The Afinia, we were the grateful recipients of this beautiful gold box which contained a "Thank You" for coming. Suggestions for how to make your Chicago stay memorable, a map and some of the goodies Brian & Gen have discovered living in Chicago.
This is a sample picture of the dozens of treats that were passed around prior to the main meal at the rehearsal dinner.

Sample table setting at the rehearsal dinner.
Different view of table.
Father & son - James Jr & James Sr
This was butter, but each color was a different flavor. The breads were great!
A close up of place setting and silverware. Beautiful. The dinner menu was tucked in the napkin.
Several Maple trees like this one decorated the perimeter of the room.
A band played beautiful music throughout the evening, except when toasts were being made.
Another table view.
Mother, Mary and Grandmother, Jan, of the groom.
Brian & Gen - Bride & Groom to be.
Relatives of the groom from left, Kevin (brother), Jim Sr (uncle), Mike (father) and Jimmy (cousin).
Relatives of the groom - Jim Jr (cousin) & Dave (uncle)
Dave's family from left - daughter Chrissie - son-in-law Michael - daughter Keri- & wife Annie. I'm bad at names!
My husband and I enjoying the evening. It was wonderful. Food was fantastic. I love eating when the food is impressive.
Close up of the centerpieces. Note the fruits and vegetables mixed in with the flowers! I loved it.
This salad platter had butter lettuce with fresh figs and balsamic syrup, assorted cheeses and dried fruit, pear apricot & cherry kirsch compote. Yummy! There was a little triangle of cracker and some fresh grapes and strawberry too. The whole meal was unique and awesome!

Magic Kingdom - Friday - Last Day

2010-11-09T18:03:00.000-08:00

Amy & Brady on Astro Orbiter.

Jim sporting a napkin hat made by himself.
Amy helping Brady and Haylee get some last minute momento's from Disney.
Hunter and Jim relaxing while we wait for our table to be ready at Artist Point.
A mommy daughter teaching moment.
Haylee deep in thought. Is she not adorable in the flower head band Leslie made to go with her Giselle skirt?

Hunter sporting a napkin hat made by his Dad.

Brady, you can tell he is really excited about the prospect of eating instead of playing Buzz Lightyear.
Tralee enjoying her meal at Artist Point.
Hunter dining at Artist Point.
Hunter relaxing at Wilderness Lodge before dinner at Artist Point. He is wearing his free T-shirt, given to him by a Disney store because he fell in a puddle outside their store.

Our two little princesses. I just can't take well posed pics. My camera does not cooperate. It takes the picture three seconds after I press the button! Oh well. They are cute anyway.
Waiting for the parade at Frontierland.
Brady and Haylee making faces because Aunt Leslie & Uncle Jim taught them to.
Haylee's car. I pressed the gas and she drove the car.

We ate breakfast at Pop Century again. Everyone had what they liked there. We planned to separate once we got to the Kingdom because Jim and Leslie wanted to take the little ones to the kiddie area and Amy and I took Brady and Haylee to some bigger kid areas.

First we went on Alien Encounter. Haylee did not like it. Brady thought it was fun. They have changed that one too. Less frightening. We got fast passes for Buzz Lightyear twice, but were not able to use the second ones because we ran out of time. That was by far Brady's favorite because he got to shoot and score. He did GREAT! Amy did pretty good. Haylee and I not so much, but we had fun anyway. Haylee wanted to go on these airplanes called Astro Orbiter and we did. Amy thought it made her feel ill.

When we met up with the others, it was parade time and Leslie wanted Tralee to be able to watch the parade. We waited a LONG time for it, but had some refreshments (including my Turkey Leg) and Hunter had a nap. Amy and Haylee took off for parts unknown for a while. After the parade, we went back to do our Fast Passes at Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. Then we hoped to head back to Buzz Lightyear for Brady and Jim, but it was time to head over to Artist Point.

Artist Point is a signature restaurant and Leslie's wonderful idea. She suggested we have one meal at an adult restaurant to treat the adults. We had to use two sit down dinner passes for it, but it was worth it. Very elegant and all of our children behaved like little princes and princesses. Food was wonderful. Amy did not even order the cheapest thing on the menu and shared her sweet potatoes which were delicious. We took the boat over to Wilderness Lodge, where the restaurant is and took the buses back home. Had a bit of a scare when Leslie couldn't find her bag with wallet, phone etc, but Amy had taken it for her and Leslie did not hear her say she was taking it. What a relief when Amy discovered we were panicking and said, "I've got your bag. I guess you didn't hear me say I was taking it for you."

It's sad to realize the magic is at an end. Even sadder that Jim and Leslie have to get up around three to make it to the airport. They are troopers! I sure love my family and have enjoyed all the personalities and pleasures of this wonderful week!

Thursday - Epcot

2010-11-08T16:56:00.000-08:00

Haylee got a signature book for the characters to sign.
Tralee enjoying the fish after the Nemo Ride.
Tralee after she was no longer afraid of the characters.
Haylee and Brady watching Hunter at the Nemo Pavilion
Waiting for the bus to Epcot.
On the bus going to Epcot.
On the bus going to Epcot.
Waiting for the bus to Epcot.
A photo op at Norway's Troll statue.
Hunter checking out Pluto's whiskers.
Haylee & Brady being greeted by Mickey at the Garden Grille
Tralee saying "Hi" to Pluto at the Garden Grille.
Haylee pointing to her favorite soda from around the world! We cooled off and tried every one!

Thursday was Epcot day. Everyone liked our food court, so we had breakfast there before we headed to Epcot. Once Leslie & Jim rented the second stroller, there got to be a bit of tension because Tralee was not sure she wanted to ride in it if Haylee was walking. If Haylee was in the stroller, Tralee was not sure about that either. Poor Brady sort of got left out of Tralee's thought process because Haylee was her "BEST FRIEND" but fair is fair and so he had to have a turn too. It got to the point where Jim and Leslie had to explain to Tralee that it was her stroller and she needed to ride in it. Whew!

First order of business was to get the stroller and the second order of business was to get a Fast Pass for Soarin. There is so much to do at Epcot that we had trouble deciding and time was wasting away. We finally headed over to the Nemo Ride where you ride around in little cars through huge fish tanks with real fish inside. Of course, someone had to use the restroom at that very moment. That happened a few times over the week. Once you finish the ride, you can wonder around in the place for a long time looking at all the fish and huge coral reefs, sponges and whatever else is in big fish tanks. Tralee loved it. We spent half the morning in there waiting for her to get her fill. Hunter was happy to be cool and able to run around. Brady and Haylee had fun chasing Hunter. We headed back to "Living With the Land" to ride Soarin. Hunter was asleep so I stayed with him after getting a child pass off ticket. We all love the ride. I can't remember, but I think Leslie, Tralee and Haylee came with me on the pass off ride. Amy and Brady must have stayed behind with Jim and Hunter. Jim had taken Hunter on "Living with the Land Ride" while we were gone and so we all went on it together after Soarin. It's a fun ride. We went into a retarded (As Jim Jacobs called it) Michael Jackson presentation. I could have lived without it. The kids had a blast playing with jumping water fountains and Brady got soaked and loved every minute of it. It was very hot again so Jim and Leslie suggested the sample soda's from around the world. I had not known about that but it was great. The drinks are great. Some are even nutritionally sound and delicious. We all had our fill of soda from around the world. We went on the Imagination Ride with Figment.

Our dining reservation was at Chip & Dale's Harvest Feast at the Garden Grille in the Living with the Land building. The restaurant circles around as you eat and you can see scenery from the ride we were on earlier. Food was served family style. All week Tralee had been less than anxious to have her picture taken with the characters. However, this evening when Mickey came around she went up to him and adored him and I got a picture of it. It was wonderful. Food was pretty good. I'm not sure if I mentioned in earlier posts that it was Amy's birthday on Tuesday, but at every dining reservation all week she got a special cupcake and a birthday card signed by all the characters at that restaurant. Brady loved the cupcakes.

Later in the early evening I stayed with Hunter and the rest of the group went on Fast Track. Brady, Haylee and Tralee LOVED it. After riding it about three times, Jim came back to relieve me and I decided to go on it, but unfortunately the rest were ahead of me and I had to ride it with strangers. It was still fun; I wanted to see what they thought was so great about the ride. It seemed tame and boring at first, but I saw why they enjoyed it when the cars sped around the track the second part of the ride.

Hunter was asleep and the other three were doing great so we decided to try to make it through to the fireworks. We went on Norway's Maelstrom Ride a couple times because we had time to kill. The last time we were here I could not go on the ride because Haylee would not go on it. She was afraid of the trolls. This time she went on and loved it. As we were leaving the building most of us decided to get some photos with a huge troll they have in the store area. Haylee did not notice and proceeded out of the store before she realized we were not with her. She really became frightened. She was coming back to find someone to ask to help her when she spotted us. Thank Heavens she kept her wits about her and found us.

We got great ground seats for the fireworks right up front. Hunter slept for quite a while through the waiting. Jim Jacobs got snacks and drinks for the kids. The fireworks for Illuminations were beautiful and we had a great time. It was a tired group that headed back to Pop's Century that night.

Wednesday - Hollywood

2010-11-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

We did some snacking before we left Pop Century this morning because we had a lunch reservation at Playhouse Disney - Hollywood and Vine at noon. It was really hot. Jim and Leslie decided that they needed strollers for both kids so they opted to rent the other one for the next three days. That way Hunter could sleep when he needed to without a lot of trouble and Tralee could ride when she needed to. I stayed with Hunter while everyone else went on the Tower of Terror. I was pretty sure Haylee would chicken out and I was not convinced Tralee could handle it. However, I was wrong on both counts. I was surprised that Brady went on it without any reservations and even went on it a second time with Jim Jacobs and myself with our child pass off ticket. Haylee had had enough. Tralee was fine with not going on again. I was prepared to be scared, but they have toned down the ride considerably. It is more like going up and over a big hill in a car really fast three or four times as they raise and lower the elevator. I enjoyed the sensation. It was fun instead of frightening.

We did the Great Movie Ride. They tamed that one down too. I remember Leslie and I doing a race car (Rockin Roller Coaster) which banged your head around seriously. It was a good thing Amy said to make sure you press your head back against the seat or you could get your brain dislodged. It was good advice. We did the Little Mermaid. That was cute, but seemed shorter to me. Brady was not impressed. We did the Playhouse Disney Puppet Show which was adorable. Tralee loved it and Haylee was fine with it, but it was too tame for Brady. We did a 3D Toy Story which was pretty cute. The kids enjoy reaching for the objects that fly out towards them with the 3D glasses. Maybe this was the ride where you got to shoot at things. Brady and Jim did GREAT on this of course. The rest of us were past the targets before we pulled the trigger, except for Amy, she's a pretty good shot too.

I was disappointed that we did not get to do Beauty and the Beast. Lunch was fun for the kids and Hunter was not even grouchy. I think everyone was able to eat enough. They had some good healthy choices that I appreciated. They had interactive dancing with some of the characters and sweet Tralee got right out there and did the actions. She was adorable.

Jim bought Tralee a bubble gun and she had a ton of fun with it. So did Brady and Haylee catching and chasing bubbles.

Hunter did take a nap at one point. We left the park before dark and headed back to Pop's Century. It was a full day. In the evenings, Jim took the kids out lizard hunting and they met with success. The lizards were let go at bedtime so they could resume their lives outside of a plastic drink bottle.

Leslie & Jim decided to go on a date Wednesday night. That was all fine until Hunter decided he wanted his Mommy. Wow! That little guy has a set of lungs when he wants his Mommy. We tried everything and he would be fine for a minute or two once we got his attention with something and then he would think about his Mommy and say "Mum, Mum, Mum!" over and over again and scream in despair. Tralee decided it was time for bed too and wanted to go back to their room for sleeping. I know Jim and Leslie were not gone very long, but I was very happy when they returned because I am no substitute for their Mommy and Daddy. I learned that!

Disney Continued - Animal Kingdom - Tuesday

2010-11-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday we headed over to Donald's Safari Breakfast at the Tusker House in Animal Kingdom. Our reservation was at 9:25 am which was 7:25 Hunter & Tralee's time so they were still on the tired side. The Buffet was awesome. They had a special Mango Papaya drink which was good too. I forgot my camera. Amy & Leslie brought theirs though.

Just as we were leaving Pop Century Brady slipped and hit his head and got a nice lump. That put a damper on his day. He made it to around noon and when Leslie & Jim decided to take their kids back to the resort for a rest, Amy and Brady joined them.

Haylee, that sweet girl, stayed with Grandma and we went on a roller coaster ride she liked at Dinoland about four times. She came with me to see a show around the Lion King theme which was very colorful and entertaining and we also made it to a little Nemo play before the kingdom closed. We did "It's a Bug's Life" too which has changed a bit.

When we first arrived everyone except Hunter & I did the Dinosaur Ride. It is scary, but I didn't think Haylee would be afraid this year. She was though. She did not want to go on it a second time. Tralee did go on it a second time with me. Jim and Brady came with us. Her little body just shook and she was holding on to my leg and insisted that I put my arm around her. She is a real trooper.

Leslie and I did the Mt Everest ride. I had not done that before. It was another rocky roller coaster ride. It would have scared Haylee and probably Brady too so it's a good thing Leslie and I went on it alone. While we did that, Amy was back at the carnival games so Brady could win seven black bats and a dragon. He went back to the resort happy with his loot. Haylee won a cute little sea horse I think.

Oh, most of us went on the White Water Rapids too. Haylee and I got drenched! A big wave came over the watercraft and just soaked us completely. It's a good thing they had a canvas cover where you could place valuables like purses and cell phones. It took Haylee and I the rest of the day to dry out.

We ate dinner back at our food court. They had a Greek Salad that I loved. I will have to try to recreate it for myself at home. When Haylee and I returned from Animal Kingdom, I was tired and the others had been swimming. Poor Haylee got her suit on and everyone else got out of the pool. I should have gone swimming with her, but I did not and by the time I said I would, she was already getting out.

Arrival Disney 2010 - Cherished Memories - Sunday-Monday

2010-10-31T18:46:00.000-07:00

Resort Entrance
The Crystal Palace - Monday's Sit Down Dinner with Disney Characters
Mr & Mrs Potato Head at the Resort
Photo Op at Pirates of the Carribean
Looks like Breakfast at our Food Court

Jim & Tralee at the Food Court
Leslie & Hunter at the Food Court
Brady, Haylee and Amy at Check In

Hunter & Tralee playing at the water fountains at Pop's Century.

After almost a year in the making, the day finally came when we all left for our Disney Trip. Once the dates were set, the Milwaukee Labiszak's were the first plane reservations made. Then a few months later, my flight was set. Last, and without much time to spare, the Boise, ID Jacobs airline tickets were set. Only problem was they had to fly out of Salt Lake City and they were Red Eye flights. They left at 12:50 am for arrival at Orlando between 8 and 9 am Sunday morning, Oct 24th. Amy, Brady & Haylee got to the airport after 10 am and I arrived about 20 minutes later. The four of us made it to Pop Century Hotel a bit after noon. It was a good idea to plan to arrive on Sunday. We could get all rested and ready to head off to the parks on Monday. Leslie and Jim were waiting when we got there. Our rooms were right next to each other. The rooms were small, but Pop Century is a fun place to stay. The bed's and pillows were super comfortable. We spent some time at the pool in the afternoon and it was great just to be together. We had talked about going to Downtown Disney for dinner that night, but the Food Court lunch we ate on our dining plan filled us up and no one felt like eating again on Sunday. Everyone liked the food court. It had several choices for each of us, but most of all, plenty of chocolate milk. I believe our party set a world record for amount of chocolate milk consumed in one week. It was the favorite drink of Amy, Haylee, Leslie, Tralee, Jim and I believe Hunter as well. Brady thinks dairy products make him sick, so he stuck with soda most of the time.

When the Jacobs arrived, they went to the food court to get something to eat and decided to pick up a couple Disney Souvenir Mugs. Leslie told Jim they would probably be about $4-$5 bucks. Well, surprise surprise - they were $14.99 each. So his first bill at the food court since they did not use their dining cards was pretty steep. However, these were not ordinary mugs, you got to refill them whenever you wanted as much as you wanted without paying any additional money. Believe me, in the week we were there, the eight of us used them pretty much every day. They were probably worth what Jim paid for them.

This was the first time we had tried the dining plan at Disney and I think it is GREAT! We had one sit down meal, one quick service meal and one snack each day for each person (except Hunter, he had to share with the rest of us). That was pretty much all we needed to survive food wise. I had made reservations for all of our sit down dinners and I must say we were not disappointed except for a longer than expected wait on Monday!

The first day we hit Magic Kingdom. Hunter was a BIG bonus on this trip. Whenever we went on a ride he could not go on, we did the adult pass off and then whoever stayed behind with Hunter could go on the ride with two others from the party using the fast pass line. Frequently, I was the one selected to go on the pass off ride and when I asked for one more ticket because I had three grandchildren and could not leave one out, they would kindly give me the extra ticket. So, if the kids really liked a ride, they would get to go on it twice without having to wait in line. It was great! I think the big hits of the day were Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. We also enjoyed Pirates of the Carribean, the Haunted Mansion and the Jungle Ride. It was a hot day and at this point we had no stroller so we headed back to Pop Century after our meal.

Our sit down dinner at the Crystal Palace had Winnie the Pooh Characters. It would have been nice had they sat us right down, but we had to wait about 45 minutes and Hunter was not happy. His schedule was off. He did finally fall asleep, but when they made us move him off the floor he woke up and it was time to go. I hope Jim and Leslie got enough to eat that night because the Buffet was pretty good. I enjoyed the food a lot!

More Later ...

Thoughts Worries and Wishes

2010-10-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend was Stake Conference and there were some talks that I really enjoyed. There were also some that I did not pay enough attention to be blessed by the efforts of the giver. I seem to be slipping in the spirituality department. I want to feel the Lord's spirit every day, but perhaps I don't put the effort in to receive that gift.

We built our first home in West Bend, WI and moved in right after Jimmy Jr was born. We were in the West Bend Ward when Jim was baptized. We had the best group of young couples and we did so much together. We had so much fun and so many friends and were always doing things together and very much a part of each other's lives. Within two years we moved to Milan, TN. Jim was called into the bishopric right away. That made us an integral part of that ward. We did a lot with ward members. Had a close knit group of friends. Many strong and lasting friendships.

Since we have been in Ohio, friendships with a measure of spirituality that a Ward family can provide seems to have eluded me. Is it because I'm an oldie now that this friendship group has fizzled out. I believe it still exists among the young couples who are close and seem to know what is going on in each others lives. I'm sure it's my fault and if I put some effort into it I could change things, but I'm complacent. I'm happy with my work, my life and don't feel anything is really missing, but I know there is more I should be doing. There have been times when people who were special to me have shared how I have made them better through my example and efforts. I miss being that and being there for someone else. I have been asking Heavenly Father to bless me with unconditional love, compassion and charity. Also to help me not to judge and to be able to serve HIM. I have a lot of work to do.

Last weekend was General Conference. That is always a great weekend because we don't have to go to church. We get to watch it on the BYU channel. We have invited people over in the past to share this experience with us. This conference, nope! I need to do more than pray, I need to act!

A Real Carrot Cake and a Surprise

2010-09-27T18:39:00.001-07:00

I went back to Costco's bakery department and no one was there so I went to the information desk and gave them my phone number and told them to have the bakery department call me. I told them Costco very seldom disappoints me, but their cake was one of the worst carrot cakes I had ever tasted. Then tonight my hubby came home and said his co-worker told him the cake was great! I'm not believing it though.

Carrot Cake Recipe
2 cups whole wheat flour (I grind my own and sometimes use part brown rice flour too)
2 cups sugar (I reduce the amount a bit and use half brown and half white)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil (I use Canola and Olive mixed)
4 eggs
3 cups shredded carrots (If it ends up being a bit more it doesn't matter)
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla

Mix Well - Pour into a 13x9 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I don't think this time is exact. You will need to watch and check for the toothpick or knife to come out clean.

Frosting - The crowning glory of this cake

1/2 stick butter
8 oz cream cheese
1 box confectioner's sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped raisins (put these in a blender with some of the confectioner's sugar to chop)

Cream butter and cream cheese, add vanilla, pecans and raisins. Blend in sugar until the spreading consistency you desire.

I found a recipe called Morning Glory Muffins that I LOVE! My family picks on me. They call them "Colon Blow Muffins". I am including this recipe because it is soooooo healthy and they are great!

3/4 sup sugar (I use brown and less, maybe substituting a little honey)
2 cups ground whole wheat flour (or mix in some brown rice flour too)
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup flaked unsweetened coconut (use sweetened if that is all you have)
1/2 cup raisins
*1/2 cup craisins
2 cups grated carrots
1 apple grated
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3 eggs beaten
1 cup vegetable oil (I use Canola/Olive)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
*2 Tbsp Black Strap Molasses
*1/4 cup sunflower seeds
*1/8 cup sesame seeds

*The recipe did not call for these, but I put them in because they are healthy, and they add a taste I like. I've also substituted sweet potato for the carrots when I didn't have carrots and put zucchini in when I had that. You can improvise until you get a taste you like. I dump the whole thing into a bowl and mix. I usually end up with at least two muffin tins full (24 muffins). I use paper muffin cups and spray some Pam to prevent sticking. Sometimes they come out clean, sometimes they are a little hard to get out of the wrapper.

The end!

Work Party Etc

2010-09-26T04:49:00.000-07:00

I had planned to go to the temple this weekend, however, they were booked and had no room for me at the Saturday sessions. Which ended up being fine because someone from Jim's work was having a party. It was very nice. I think we need to do that more. Have people over. Jim and I are such stuck in the mud homies. When we get home from work we just like to have time alone either together watching a movie or separately each doing our own thing. However, if we take the time and effort to plan something with people, it usually turns out to be fun.

Jim was supposed to bring a dessert. We went to Costco and Jim had his eye on a Chocolate Cake. I opted for the healthier Carrot Cake and he let me win this time. Unfortunately, the cake was a flop. The frosting did not even taste like cream cheese or butter. It was gross, and tasted like powdered sugar and water. I believe I will have to take my Carrot Cake recipe to Costco's bakery department and tell them what's what.

I had planned on getting a lot done Saturday. I had dreams of washing more windows, staining the front window outside, cleaning at least part of the basement which has piles of dead bugs in corners and under stuff leaning against walls. The house needed vacuuming and floors needed washing. Laundry needed doing and ironing needed to be done. I needed to get my hair trimmed as my last haircut was one of the biggest downers I've ever had. It was so bad that every day I had to work with it to try to cover up dents and stick outs all over my head. I began my day with a prayer ( and especially pleaded for a decent haircut). I ended up going to a place I haven't gone for quite some time. When the gal called me over I noticed they had a record of my previous times being there. It took her a while to read what previous cutters had written and being the paranoid individual I am my imagination went wild. Sarah said she was up for dealing with me anyway. A nice girl and she did a fine job. She listened to me and made suggestions. The back top is a bit shorter than I had envisioned and I'll have to deal with one side sticking out more making me look unbalanced, but I can deal with it and it will grow back and I plan on going back to Sarah.

Anyway, Jim went to the Sprint store after work so he got home later than usual and nothing got done outside. The only thing I managed inside was vacuuming the first floor, laundry and ironing. I watched Ever After while ironing. Cute movie. We went to Costco after Jim got home and then I took a half hour nap before we left for the party. I was exhausted and I had not even gotten much done. I think stress followed by depression tires me out. I must find a way to handle my emotional roller coaster.

Friday night we watched our Netflix movie. It was August Rush. I loved it! I have no idea how it got on our Que. Jim slept through half of it. He is not a fan of non-violence for some reason. I will usually opt out of those kinds of movies, the violent ones.

My car has a muffler problem. It seems my muffler is one of very few and in order to find a new one it will cost a fortune and be very hard to come by. Great! I have an Impala that was made in 2005, but it is a 2006 and has a dual exhaust. When we got it Jim got a great deal. Maybe this is why. Can't find parts and very expensive to maintain.

I'm excited that it is the time of the year where soup is the thing. I'm getting ready to start making soups! Yum Yum!!

Pig Roast

2010-09-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

The Club hosted a Pig Roast last night. Nancy M & Dave W met Jim and I there. It was a lot of fun. Pretty big crowd too. Several folks I know from working out were there. I even remembered several of their names. My brain is improving. After eating, there were a couple fire pit contraptions and a few couples (including us) spent a very enjoyable evening sitting around the camp fire; sharing stories and feeding the fire. It was great!

It was also great not having to rise and shine this morning. I did get up just before Jim left though. I had a ton to do today. I began with the laundry, changing the bedding, ironing, cleaning the house which I had neglected to do last Saturday because I was at the church washing windows. I was still working on the house when Jim got home. I was disappointed, because I had hoped to be finished with the house and outside staining. I was stressed and my body feels weird when that happens. We headed over to Costco and grazing helped me feel better. We came back and I mowed the lawn, warmed up leftovers and then headed out to do some staining. I think I'm about done with what I can do. Jim thinks I have one section left, but it did not look like it to me in the semi darkness. I will have to call George now, our Pella hero who brings his ladder over and does the stuff we can't reach. Wow, did this place ever need to be restained! It looks so much better. We can thank Jim J, Leslie's hubby for a good bit of it!

Jim made popcorn tonight and we sat down to watch a Netflix movie. The popcorn was really greasy, but delicious. I told Jim if I don't make it through the night, it was worth it. Our neighbors called us outside because there are some strange lights moving across the sky in the east. We cannot figure out what they are. Anyway, this movie is trash. I don't know who picked it, Jim won't fess up, but he's watching it. I came upstairs, but I can still hear it in the background. I can't understand how some people can be entertained by some of this disgusting trash that is available for viewing.

It's almost time for bed and for some reason I have been totally exhausted most of the afternoon. Tomorrow I will have to take a look at our finances. I have been putting it off due to lack of time, but I need to get a handle on things.

I'm bummed because neither of my girls have posted anything on their blogs this week. What am I to do? No word or pictures makes for a sad Grandma!

Pep Talk

2010-09-16T18:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my husband was pretty much in a bad mood. This is very unusual for him. He usually has to pick me up out of the bottom of the barrel. Although I spent a good deal of time pointing out all of our blessings, he was still a grouch this morning. You know, it really helps make things better when you trudge around like a grump! I prayed for him and even put his name on the prayer roll when I called Salt Lake to put a co-worker's name on who is having surgery tomorrow. An hour or so later Jim called; when he left work and went to his car, the passenger car window was smashed in and so far his GPS system had been stolen. He wasn't aware of anything else. In retrospect, that may seem like more bad stuff, however, is it possible that he was blessed that the intruder came when Jim was not in or near the car? It was a rainy dreary day but he made it home without a torrential downpour. He had to cancel and reschedule several appointments, but I am grateful he is home safe and sound! I even saw him smile a bit this evening. Maybe he is counting his blessings too!

Another Temple Story

2010-09-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Leslie called me a while back and said she had a dream about Grandpa John. He asked her to do his Temple work. She called me and asked for the dates and information she would need to get the work done. Then we forgot about it because we are all pretty peeved at Grandpa John for leaving NaNa in a less than optimal situation by squandering his resources before he passed. Then Leslie was asked to give a talk about Temple work and it brought to mind that Grandpa John wanted his Temple work done. She and her husband Jim went to the Temple and Jim did John's baptism. They still have to do his endowment because the last time they went to the Temple Jim forgot John's card. Leslie said she recently acquired his wife's information so she can have the two of them sealed to each other. I think I might have gotten that info for her from NaNa. Temple work is pretty interesting.

Posterity

2010-09-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

Jim was asked to teach the Temple Preparation class at church a couple months ago. I was asked to sit in the class because I'm his wife. I've enjoyed being there with several individuals anxious to become Temple worthy and receive their Temple Recommends. Jim is a very good teacher; I know most of what he teaches but I'm happy to help explain the purpose and value of Temple attendance. Last Sunday, Jim was speaking a bit about spiritual experiences while doing Temple work. In the Temple we do ordinances by proxy for relatives, or non-relatives who have passed away. Early in our marriage, Jim and I did ordinances for several members of his family who were deceased. Occasionally you will do an ordinance for someone that is exceptional. You will know by the spirit that is around you that that individual has accepted the work you are doing. Jim mentioned in our class that while we were doing work for his posterity, there was one individual that he knew had accepted the Gospel. He had not told me this before. Of course I wanted to know who it was. He said, "Grandpa Joe." That is NaNa's father. It is good to know there is someone on the other side carrying the torch for the rest of Jim's family. If Grandpa Joe has accepted the Gospel, that means there will be other members of the family hearing the message. Jim's Patriarchal Blessing indicates that as he does the important work of searching out the deceased members of his family and taking their names to the Temple, the eyes of his understanding will be opened and he will be witness to a marvelous spiritual experience. We really need to commit ourselves to move this work forward.

A Week in Review

2010-09-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

So on Labor Day we did get some staining done. Jim also helped me wash a couple front windows by holding the ladder. Still more to do, but it was a good start. In the afternoon, we had to get ready for company. We had invited Jim & Holly H our next door neighbors over, but Jim H's Mom was in town from Florida so we included her along with Jim H's sister and her husband. That's where Jim H's Mom is staying. We had also mentioned to our neighbors across the street, Jim & Marilyn, that we would be happy to have them join the party if their children left on time. They did leave so Jim & Marilyn joined us too. It was my husband's idea to serve beef fajita's and we served them with sauteed onions, peppers and a host of other toppings. They were delicious! Holly made a great carrot cake for dessert and Marilyn brought some chocolate covered pretzels. Dave & Sue brought a nice plant. We had a very enjoyable evening.

Thursday evening Jim & I went to the club for Pasta Night. After we got home, I made Chicken Enchiladas for dinner Friday night. I did not mow the lawn Friday, even though I have a brand new lawn mower. We watched a movie and relaxed. Saturday Jim went to work and I had a Super Saturday at church. It was a Relief Society function, kind of a craft fair. I had signed up for several things, which I came to regret, because I could not possibly finish them all. The first thing I tackled was a Christmas Box with 25 miniature boxes in various shapes inside. They all had to be stained, designs had to be cut out for the top of each of the mini boxes, then I had to put hodgepodge over the stain, then hodgepodge the design to the top of the box, then hodgepodge the numbers (from 1-25) on the top of the design. Needless to say, it took forever. The activity was from 9:30 am until 2:00 pm. I got their a bit early with my trusty step stool, so I began washing windows outside our building. I made good progress. Back to the crafts, when we broke for lunch (baked potatoes with all kinds of toppings and salads and brownies - all excellent) I was only half way done with the boxes. After I finished that, I moved on to lip gloss. We had to melt the cocoa butter in the microwave, add stevia for sweetening, add flavoring, stir and pour into a cute little container and put the sticker with the flavor on the top. The microwave was on the fritz and that took longer than it should have. Next, I made a flavored bath gel and lotion for Haylee complete with a sticker that has her name on them. I moved on to making Root Beer. That I did for Jimmy. I made two Root Beers, and two Almond Flavored Root Beers. Can't wait to try them. They even have specialty labels that say "Labiszak Brand". They are very cute. I cut out patterns for two hair bands, one for Haylee and one for Tralee, but did not get them sewn. Hopefully I can make that happen by the Disney Trip. Then I signed up for a key chain, which I did not get made either.

After the bash, I continued washing windows. I was the last one to leave, but I guess I washed about 40 windows, at least. I wished I had brought a couple more tools for the job (like a razor blade and squeegee). I will not be so remiss in the future. They look so much better. The only problem is, the place should really have been power washed first. There are dust and spider webs all over. Our gutters really need attention too. I wonder why no one does that stuff. I shall probably have to get on some one if it is going to get done.

I have not been riding to church with Kitchens of late, because I'm always late, but Claire sometimes comes to sit with us during Sacrament meeting. She is adorable! Her Mom and I are now visiting teaching partners. We also have another sister to visit. I guess we better get going on that.

I took a nice nap today. It was a beautiful day. I'm listening to a very enjoyable series by Mary Blalouge. I'm finished wish First Comes Marriage and now I'm listening to Then Comes Seduction.

I renewed the Handyman's book to try to convince Jim to help me take the toilet off upstairs, but have not been successful to date. Not giving up though.

BRADY JAMES

2010-09-05T15:53:00.001-07:00

Just a few miscellaneous pictures of Brady - Who is now seven and an awesome grandson. We are delighted he is part of our family. Happy Birthday Brady! We love you!

It's Either My Way or Get Out of My Way

2010-09-05T15:07:00.000-07:00

I have a personality flaw that makes me an irksome human being if someone does not agree with my idea. I keep making my point until the other party gives in, or in rare instances when I see some merit with their plan and let it slide. In either case, it does not do a lot to endear me to people. I guess I need to change. I suppose I could. I hope I can. I would like to be more likeable to more than just my family. I think they love me in spite of my many flaws.

Today the Aaronic Priesthood sent a young man over to collect fast offerings. It was the same young man who came last month. A great kid, a wonderful family. His Dad was driving him. Last month I paid it, but mentioned that I always pay my fast offering with my tithing and they did not have to waste their time, gas and energy coming to have me write a fast offering check when I would be paying it with my tithes & offerings. Later I spoke to the Dad and he said he also felt his time would be better spent doing something else on a Sunday afternoon than going to active tithe paying members homes to collect fast offerings. I only remember one other time in our nine plus years that someone stopped over to collect fast offerings and at the time I thought it was a special deal for something special and was to be in addition to what I normally pay. Today, I made a comment, "I thought they were not going to send you guys over anymore?" Then I went to hunt for the checkbook, no checks left, went to hunt for more checks, couldn't find the next batch so had to use the wrong set of numbers. Then I wrote the check out wrong and had to void it and rewrite it. As the young man was leaving and Jim was coming in the front door he said, "What did you do/say, he looks scared to death. He went to the wrong side of the car to get in he was so upset." Shame on me. Now I feel awful. I called the family and apologized to the father, but it's my rotten attitude that so often gets in the way of my being a decent human being. I have not prayed about this collection process, perhaps the Lord is trying to teach the boys responsibility and perhaps he is trying to teach me to be a decent human being. In any event, I need to straighten myself out and not be negative to innocent well meaning people. Just because I think it's wrong, and a waste of time and resources does not make it wrong. Who am I to say? I will repent and try again.

Jim and I planned to get more of the outside staining done yesterday. Plans had to be changed because on Friday night I went to mow the lawn and our mower was shot. It's pretty old so it was not surprising. Luckily, we were watching Lucy for the week and decided Jim & Holly would not mind if we used theirs. It's a good thing we did, because it helped Jim decide what kind we would buy this time around. Saturday morning dawned cloudy and rainy so we decided to go lawnmower shopping. Home Depot had their tropical plants on sale for $8 so I got a few more plants. I had gotten a few the week prior because Lowes had some nice ones on clearance for $5. I love live house plants. I also replant them when I bring them home because they generally have to much root and not enough dirt to be healthy. I also had to go grocery shopping because we are having company over tomorrow for dinner. I cleaned the house, did the laundry, blew the debris out of the garage, took care of Lucy and finally about 11 pm I showered and went to bed. Couldn't sleep! I hate when that happens.

Well, now it is a beautiful Sunday and tomorrow we do not have to work because it is Labor Day. What a great blessing. I am going to help Jim work on the staining, maybe tackle washing the windows, and try to get Jim to consider removing the upstairs toilet to make sure the wax ring is deep enough.

Oh, I also made Chicken Marsala yesterday and it was good. Not enough left for today so after fasting, we had some snacks and then I made omelets. They were good too.

Pictures!

2010-09-02T18:32:00.001-07:00

Great Grandma Stoehr, Grandpa Jim & Uncle Dave at Haylee's Baptism. Grandma Stoehr felt awful that she did not have a brush for her hair and did not want her picture taken, but she is a good sport and we love her.
Jim's great cook out. He had us all over two days running! It was great!
Amy's Mom. It was great to see her at Haylee's baptism!
The proud grandparents! Our first grandchild baptised!
Uncle Mike and Aunt Mary at Haylee's baptism. Uncle Dave yawning in the background.
Brady playing catch with Grandpa Gary coaching.
Haylee looking adorable with her new haircut.
Another party at Jim Jr's.
Brady at the pool.
Haylee and Grandpa Jim at the pool.
Above - Haylee and Mom right after her baptism.
Todd enjoying a Milkshake with his Mom.
Jim Jr Family after Haylee's baptism.
Haylee & Brady after Haylee's Baptism.
Amy's brother Matt and Sister in Law Lindsy, Baby Oliver and Amy's Dad, Gary.

Haylee's Baptism Etc

2010-08-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we headed to Milwaukee for Haylee's baptism. It was simply a wonderful weekend of family get togethers at the church and then at Jim & Amy's house. Aunt Mary noted that with the awesome back yard, Jim & Amy ought to consider doing the July 4th celebrations in the future. They were wonderful hosts for Saturday and Sunday's main meals. NaNa did her part by supplying some of the food for the celebrations. As Brady's birthday is Sept 3rd, we threw that into the celebration as well. Jim, Brady, Haylee and I had a great time at NaNa's pool on Saturday morning. I used to not like getting in the pool, but when I can play with my grandchildren, I like it.

NaNas air conditioner died. Apparently it was 38 years old so I guess it was time. It was pretty hot Saturday, but Sunday cooled off a bit as luck would have it.

We took Monday off of work and drove back. Stopped to see Todd who was very excited to see us. We spent some time with him and then headed home. I love to sleep while Jim drives and he drove both ways this trip. It was great!

I came into work a few minutes late as usual on Friday and Dave walked down the hall and yelled, "Charlene, what time do we start work?" I didn't hear him at first, but figured it out after. Later I went into his office and asked him if he would consider letting me start at 9 and leave at 5:30 and he said, "No. What do you do in the morning." I said, "This morning I got up, walked Lucy, prayed, read my scriptures and mowed the lawn. Besides, I had to park back by the dumpsters and I stopped in the warehouse to discuss Heater Hotter." He smiled and said, "You mowed the lawn? So, just say so." or something to that effect. I must try to get there early! I'm sure I can do it.

Jim has the Sunday evening popcorn made and has started the movie, so I will have to post pictures later.

Jim Jr Family Pictures & Update

2010-08-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

Brady coloring his Tortoise picture at the club.

Recently Jim Jr and family stopped over on their family vacation to and from Niagra Falls. We went to the Club for dinner one night. I think everyone enjoyed their food. Brady got a bit upset with his Dad for some reason, but it escapes my mind why. We sent the two Jim's home in the car and the rest of us walked home from the Club across the sixteenth fairway. It was really nice having the family here for a couple over nights!
Brady humoring me while trying to play a game on the computer.
Haylee getting into modeling mode for me.
Haylee perfecting her modeling angle.
Brady playing on the computer. He likes to try to get ahead of his Dad on these games.
I took this picture of Jim Sr at the Club.

Jim Jr waiting for his food to get to the table. He and I were splitting seafood dishes. He was humoring me, even though he does not like to have his picture taken.

Amy had pasta. Service was a little slow that night so I had to play around with my camera.
Didn't she do a great job modeling for me?

Brady just being his adorable self.

I don't blog much anymore, because there is just to much life to do. Saturday I spent a good deal of time cleaning up the back yard along with doing the laundry. I skipped cleaning the house, and now today I feel bad when I look at the unvacuumed floors and the grass clippings that slipped in from outside.

Friday I went to work out and when I came home the garage door into the laundry room was locked. Jim knows I hate that door being locked because if the garage doors are down, there is no reason to lock it. I dug out the key from the hiding place and unlocked the door and then scrambled to get the lawn mowed before I had to get ready for work. After getting the lawn mowed, I was in a hurry to get in the house. THE DOOR WAS LOCKED AGAIN! As soon as I tried to turn the knob he opened it and started laughing. I called him a bad name and said I did not see the humor in locking the door a second time. I felt bad after calling him a bad name so I went to look up what it meant in the dictionary hoping it had another meaning besides what it means in slang. It did. It is a bundle of sticks used for fuel or a bundle of steel rods used for welding. So there, that is not so bad. Jim continued to be mad at me though, until Friday evening when I helped him see the wisdom in forgiving and forgetting since it was the weekend, and who wants to have a cruddy weekend. He was a good sport!

Work is still pretty busy, but I must say I enjoy being at home now too because it seems I have so much to do in both places.

I went to get a haircut early last week and the gal did an awful job. That is nothing new. No one could even tell I got a haircut. I called the stylist up and she said she would be in after 5 on Friday. I went back Friday and tried to elicit some help from her as to what could be done. The first clump of hair she cut off, it was all over. She took more off than she should have. Jim would like my hair a bit longer. Well, after she cut the one clump I said, maybe not quite so much, but now on that one side of the head in the back there is an indentation. I just wish I could take my head off, cut my own hair and then put my head back on. I have cut enough hair to know it's impossible to get it perfect and no one does. It's hit or miss, and usually it's a miss for me. Probably my attitude. I do like the shorter version though, I think it makes me look less like an old hag. In a couple weeks, it will be perfect, except for that one spot!

Happy Anniversary!

2010-07-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

We have been married 34 years today. WOW! It hasn't always been easy, but it sure has been worth it. I have an awesome husband. I sometimes take the opportunity to put him in his place when he gets on his high horse, but all in all, I would not trade him for anything!

Last night Jim and I went to the Club to eat. He had Cajun Halibut and I had Porterhouse Steak. That's a real switch. He doesn't like fish and I love fish. He loves steak and I do too. We decided to split it all. I could not eat everything. It was all excellent though. Today I got up with Jim and puttered around with my plants, did four loads of wash, vacuumed the place and wiped up the floors, etc. When Jim got home we made another batch of Beef Fajita's (Thanks Leslie). I ate too much today, but I'll cut back tomorrow. I mowed the lawn last night after we ate. We had a couple really nice rains last night and today. The lawns needed the rain. Jim's been watering the grass. Can't wait to get the water bill!

Now, Milwaukee really had rain. Several inches and some real distress. My family is fine, Thank Heavens!

Next weekend Jim Jacobs is coming to take the Fireman's test here in Cleveland. It would be such a blessing if Heavenly Father would see fit to help him get a steady job with a steady income and benefits and move them closer to us all in one HUGE BLESSING. We will be praying hard and living right!

Jim helped me figure out how to get my pictures uploaded to Costco's Photo site. I'm getting a bunch of 5 x7 pictures of my grandchildren to replace my old one's at work and here at home. Can't wait to pick them up next week.

I went visit teaching Wednesday. Saw Bonnie and Nissa, but LeAnn forgot and was at Boy Scout Camp. I'm glad she was with the boys having fun! I'll see her later. I still have to send a note to Dana Jo. I actually saw her face to face last month because she was home and her grandchildren were over. They opened the door for me.

Thursday was a RS activity at church so I went right from work and did some outside window washing. I will plan to do that whenever I have to go out there. I can't stand the buggy, spider webby, filthy windows. The whole building is kind of sad on the outside (inside too, truth be told) but there is plenty we can do to spruce it up. I did the outside front entrance and it was hotter than Hades, but it looked nice when I finished. I tried my hand at knitting with Susan and Rose's help. Holy Cow, I used to knit, but it was like my brain was fried and I couldn't remember how to do it. My helpers were stalwarts though, and did not give up on me. I am making a cotton washcloth. I have a two inch by eight inch piece done now. On the way home I drove most of the way through a torrential downpour. I was glad to get home.

I finished the book on CD called Eat, Pray, Love. It was enjoyable. Some good food for thought. I guess they are making it into a movie. Friday after work I picked up some new listening material.

Next weekend Jim, Amy and family are coming through on their way to Niagra Falls. They will pull in the night before Jim Jacobs leaves. Fun Fun!!

Now for the hard part -- I must go look at finances which I've put off for far too long! So far, we have always paid our tithing and have not gone without anything we've needed! I testify that we need to put the Lord first and everything else will fall into place!

What Else is New!

2010-07-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

No one signed up to clean the Chapel and Primary rooms for last week so I went in Friday night. I spent six hours vacuuming spider webs, sweeping bugs and webs and leaves and dirt off the walls and windows outside the front entrance among the other tasks on the list. However, when it came to washing the outside windows, I could not reach high enough. I needed a step ladder. I finally found some hanging in the back of the stage, but they were about eight feet and weighed about 100 pounds. I decided to do what I could reach with the plastic 1-1/2' high plastic step stool. I thought I might get away with skipping vacuuming the chapel (I saved that for last), but alas, there were little papers and crumbs on benches and floors on enough of the surface that I could not do that. The place was looking pretty good when I left. I was hoping to be pleased with the sparkling doors when I came into the church this morning, but there were little finger smears on all the doors. I guess there was a baptism yesterday. I do need to become more of a Mary and less of a Martha. I always tell my husband that we would all starve to death if we were all Mary's.

Yesterday we went to Costco and Jim was helping decide what to have for dinner today. We split a combo pizza at Costco for dinner yesterday and then had popcorn later. He decided we should get some beef strips and have Mexican fare. Leslie turned us on to raw tortillas, that you have to brown yourself. Much better that way! So today, Jim helped in the kitchen. He did the tortillas while I sauteed green peppers and onions. He heated the beef. I opened the sour cream. Something was missing. We added black olives. Still could be better. Jim suggested Guacamole. That did it! I also added fresh tomato from my garden to mine. Jim added Tabasco (Yeck) to his. Great dinner! We also bought some Smoothie mix from Costco that Jimmy turned us on to and bought some Protein Powder to mix in. Great Dessert! We're having one later, after our evening meal of Watermelon. Perhaps Popcorn later too. Life is wonderful! Sunday's are great!

Disney Trip!!!!! A week ago I discovered an e-mail from Disney about the Dining Plan being thrown in at "no charge" if you book your package without discount. We've gone to Disney a fare number of times, (Leslie and I) but had never done the dining plan. I checked it out. It sounds great for our family. Not only that, but because I booked through Triple AAA there are some special perks we can reserve. It's not to late. We need to get going on making reservations. I also got the Disney Visa earlier this year and they threw in $200 which I can use to pay for our package for Disney bucks to spend while we are there. I am so excited for this time to spend with my grandchildren and their Moms. Hopefully Jim Jacobs will be with us too, although we are also praying that he might be considered for a job in the Cleveland area. He needs to come back to take a test the end of the month.

Because of my new phone I'm learning to use the calendar on Google. I've also started putting more info in my contacts in G-mail which I have access to on my phone. I LOVE my new phone. You can do SOOOOOO much with it!

Oh Dear! Plus Pictures!

2010-07-14T17:56:00.001-07:00

Hunter & Tralee on the 16th hole behind our house! Tralee is modeling one of many outfits her Mommy designed and made!
Is this a "Child of God!" Oh Yes!!!!
Brady, my cool grandson trying not to let me get a picture!
Tralee in her Fourth of July tutu crafted by her Mother just for this occasion!
Haylee teaching her Grandmother how to play a game.
Part of the family posing outside of NaNa's Condo building to please me!
Hunter finally deciding it might be easier to eat corn on the cob if he let me help him. This boy wants to do EVERYTHING all by himself, especially if he sees someone else can do it!
Amy & Haylee in their beautiful huge back yard!
The Jacob's family. This was the only shot I had to choose from with all of them in it.
The Labiszak family plus NaNa in Jim Jr's back yard. I got Tralee that skirt on sale about three years ago and she can still wear it. That's a deal. It used to be closer to her ankles.

I don't have time to do this, but just for the record ...

I have a new calling at church - "Ward Beautification Specialist". Interesting; I've had it for over a month and am finally figuring out what it all entails. I wish we didn't live a half hour away from the building!

I've had a couple trips to Milwaukee since the last post. I love my grandchildren. They are awesome!

Leslie and her two adorable children spent June with us while Jim worked for his Uncle in Atlanta, GA. Loved it! I miss them, BUT, in all honesty, I do not miss the chaotic mess everywhere continuously. I love clean, neat and orderly which is impossible with little ones.

Leslie knows my faults pretty well, and honestly, some of them belong to her too. I had to call her Charlene a few times while she was reading me the riot act. Gotta love her though. She is an awesome Mom, Wife, Daughter and Child of God!

Leslie and I took a trip to Milwaukee so she could see NaNa. It was well worth it. The four grandchildren got along famously. Hunter was a big hit.

This past weekend Jim and I headed back to Milwaukee for Pete S's 60th surprise birthday party. It was a huge gathering. Lots of fun. Jim took John's old walker and dressed it up with an American Flag, a mirror and a horn and tied a couple balloons to it. Gile & Linda were there so we had someone to spend the evening with.

Work has been BUSY! We may hit a new sales level this month! I love busy.

We entered another two year contract with Sprint. We all have new cell phones. We have unlimited calling, texting, pictures and the whole ball of wax. It's costing more per month, but considering the benefits for all the members of our family, I think it is worth it. Our phones are like mini computers now.

I have pictures to post, but that's it for now!

Change!!!! Spring Flowers!

2010-05-23T17:44:00.000-07:00

I've really enjoyed beautifying our yard this year. In the early spring (March), on the east side of the house, miniature pansies grew from last years seeds. I transplanted them all around the house because they do well in cold weather. I put them in the walkway coming up to the front door. Now that we have spread the sweet peat I've gotten new flowers for some areas and we purchased some new pots for the front yard. Our yard looks terrific. We just go outside to walk around the house and enjoy the beauties of nature. The birds sing so loud in the mornings, it's really nice to wake up to. I cleaned up the bird feeders and we are putting some seed out again. The feeders from Wild Birds Unlimited always got moldy so I took them apart, cleaned them and used clear caulk to minimize moisture absorption. Seems to have worked well. Jim doesn't want me to use seeds the squirrels or chipmunks like because he doesn't want them hanging around. I disagree, but we shall see. I took some pictures of our flowers.

Primary has been a real challenge for me this year even though I have spent more time in spiritual preparation than ever before! Last week Brother Kitchen came over and told me I was being released. I was very grateful! That is until he mentioned a new calling. I have been called to schedule the cleaning of the chapel and all that pertains thereto (Ward Beautification Specialist). I like how they make it sound uplifting. I'm pretty sure it is payback for all the complaining I did every time I cleaned and all the suggestions I made for cleaning items that would be useful. This will be good for me if I live to fulfill it. I might actually get to know some of the members through this calling. I missed a Relief Society function last week. I just don't think about those things when I'm in the primary and I've been in there most of my life. I'm looking forward to being in Gospel Doctrine for a change and Relief Society. Really looking forward to it.

Milwaukee Pictures - Brian's Engagment Party

2010-05-12T18:51:00.001-07:00

One of many beautiful floral arrangements at the Milwaukee Country Club where we celebrated Brian and Genevieve's Engagement on Saturday, May 8th. That is the reason we went to Milwaukee this weekend. It was worth it!
This is Genevieve and her good looking brother Bobby. Great family - great gathering! We had a delightful time!
This is a sampling of the food at the Country Club. Sushi, shrimp, crab legs, raw oysters, cheeses and crackers, petite sandwiches. I had a Non-Alcoholic Beer and enjoyed it!
My handsome husband at the function. His tie just about matched my new green suit which is elegant and beautiful. Too bad no one took a picture of me.
Here are my wonderful Milwaukee grandchildren with me in my other new suit. I will elaborate on the new suits later.
Jim's sister Mary and her husband Mike. Also the mother and father of the groom to be - Brian.
Our celestial son Todd. We stopped to visit him on the way back to Cleveland. He was soooo happy to see us. Jim let Todd borrow his sunglasses for the picture.
Todd and his loving mommy. Todd has a nice back yard to run around in and we did do some running. Todd loves to do ready, set, go! He's in pretty good shape these days. We are pleased!
NaNa at Milwaukee Country Club. She had a wonderful time at the festivities with numerous freinds!
The happy couple - Brian & Genevieve - It was pretty hard to find them both in the same place and able to get a picture. It took most of the evening!
Jim said this is a good picture of me. He also said it does not even look like me. What does he know? I choose to believe I do look like this!
This is the Jim Jr family. The picture was taken at Mike & Mary's house. What a beautiful family and what a great photographer -- ME!

Just for the record, I finished listening to Scarlet Feather by something Binchey. It was a fantastic story. I loved it. Highly recommend it on CD because of the Irish accents.

I LOVE my new camera. Dave and Nancy, our DEI bosses, bought everyone a camera to celebrate April 2010 being the best month ever in sales.

Sunday the 9th was Mother's Day and the Kocinski's and Labiszak's took NaNa to the Astor Hotel for the Mother's Day Buffet. The food was excellent. We all enjoyed it!

With regard to the suits - Jim ordered an Ice Pink Suit from Boston Store on line and had it sent to NaNa's. It was there when we arrived, but was too big and wrong color for me and had a stain on one of the shoulders. We took it back on Saturday and found two other suits for not much more than the one had cost because they were running a 15% discount and another 20% off if you opened a new charge. As good luck would have it, they had closed my account due to inactivity and I was able to open a new one. Saved a bundle. They also gave me two $10 off coupons for future purchases. They said the 20% was good all day. I brought Amy back to see if we could use the two coupons. We found some stuff and due to miscommunication on the checker's part, I made her ring the stuff up more than once and in the end they would not let me use the coupons because of the other discounts. I have to admit, I repented later for putting my wonderful daughter-in-law through a Charlene melt down. She was a really good sport about it. Monday morning, on our way back to Cleveland, I had Jim stop back at Boston Store so I could return a top and get a different one. I ended up finding one that was not there on Saturday that I had to have, which allowed me to use a $10 coupon. I was delighted!

Well Let's See

2010-05-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

We are watching Lucy (black lab) this week. That is always a nice change from the normal. Two nights ago she scared me half to death at our late night walk by lunging at this dark lump of something right by the clubhouse. It was a broken plastic plant container. Could have been a skunk! Jim does not mind sharing the bed as long as she stays on my side.

We hired a new person at DEI. She was going to be a warehouse worker, however, she does a good job in the office. Anita is off on vacation and we discovered she is too good in the office and we need someone there too. I gave her name to Nancy from our Ward Employment Specialist so she is also a member of my ward. It is nice to have someone else at work with my beliefs. Today her husband bore his testimony about making Tamara's job search fruitful. He believes this was a direct answer to his prayer.

April was DEI's best month ever! Dave & Nancy celebrated by getting each of us a nice digital camera. It is perfect timing for me, as our other camera has been taking fuzzy pictures for a while now. What a blessing!

Last night Jimmy helped us download new Mac Quicken software. I am very excited about this. It is a severe pain to have to go into Leopard Vista Microsoft Money, which is not a Mac product. Now I just need to familiarize myself with all its benefits. We use Quickbooks at work, so I'm hoping I can catch on pretty easily. Oh, the software also allowed us to import all my previous data from money. Wow!

I found some cute outfits for Tralee and Haylee last week. No luck for Brady and Hunter though.

This week I go to the Neuro Opthomologist about my visual field defect and an Ob-gyn to see whats what.

Jim is finally through with his training and able to actually deal with clients and prospects. I'm relieved. He's been getting calls and e-mails from his old customers. They miss him.

Jim Jacobs sent a resume into Cleveland to become a fire fighter. He's been wanting to do that, and Cleveland reported recently that they will be losing about 200-300 firefighters in the next two years due to retirement. We are praying that somehow Heavenly Father can intervene to make this happen. We would love to have them closer!

That's about all I can remember that's new!

Well Let's See

2010-04-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

It's been pretty eventful since I've last posted. Not sure I can remember everything. I guess a list will do.
1) It's 10:19 and Jim is fast asleep. This is when I can finally start getting stuff done. I just paid bills and checked blogs. Now that Amy works, her entry's are not so plentiful. Leslie is great about posting wonderful pictures though. Today Hunter was eating a hand me down ice cream from his big sister.
2) Sometime in the past couple weeks my new washer and dryer were delivered. Yippee! I was so happy to get rid of the piece of junk Maytag Neptune Washing Machine. The bishop and his wife came over to pick up the old dryer, which still works fine. We picked up Heinen's stir fry for supper. Mine was great! The bishop's was a bit spicy. My new set is bigger so I can actually wash and dry my king comforter in them.
3) Work has been BUSY! I like it that way. Easter was great. Our wonderful neighbors, the Hovanec's invited us over for brunch.
4) I did a project for Haylee for school. She made a Flat Haylee and mailed it to me. I had to cart Flat Haylee around and write a story about her and what she did. Everyone who participated thought it was great fun and an awesome idea. Sister Hatch (bishop's wife) had read Flat Stanley so she knew all about it.
5) Linda at the Library picked out some books on CD for me to listen to on my way to Wisconsin. I left after work on Wednesday April 7th. Drive was great with my book. I got to Jim Jr's about midnight. Slept with Haylee. NaNa cooked and I was in charge of Brady and Haylee while Amy was at work. We had a grand time, except when the mean lady yelled at us for running in the hall at Manchester Village. She needs to get a life. We wouldn't have been caught if the children would remember to run on their tip toes, but they forgot and it got a little louder. I didn't think it was that bad, or I would have reminded them. NaNa called me at work today to tell me the no life lady called the office and complained. We do the hall thing maybe six times a year. It takes us about two minutes to go up and down the three floors once. Get real already! What is her problem!
6) It is really great to have my husband home! It feels better, even though I didn't think I minded his being gone before.
7) My great home teacher dropped off brownies Sunday night. Right after I drove in the driveway. Nice surprise.
8) I stopped to see Todd on the way back to Ohio. He was in good spirits and we spent about 1-1/2 hours together. I helped him with lunch, we went for a walk and a drive and just hung out. He was very happy to see me. One of his new caregivers is named Nick and is actually going to medical school. Todd is really lucky to have him for a caregiver.
9) Judy gave me her Easter ham bone and I'm making the soup tonight. It smells great! Her husband likes me to send some home for him. Judy takes care of me with ham bones so I'm happy to share the soup.
10) Jim and I got up to go work out this morning and the place was locked up again. They are so irritating. When I called to find out what happened, I was told they would call me back, but they did not!
11) While at Jim Jr's we went to the zoo. I also took Brady and Haylee out to lunch at the Chinese place and told the gal I think it's Sesame Chicken I want. She looked at Brady and Haylee and said, "No, they get General Tso's Chicken." She was right, they loved it. We saved some for Jim Jr because he loves it too, but I forgot it in the car over night and had to throw it out the next day. Bummer!
12) We ordered Brady and Haylee new Croc's. Tried some on at Dick's Sporting Goods, but ended up getting a better deal and selection on line. Grandpa Jim agreed with me that they were due for new ones. They live in those things!
13) Bed time! Good night stars!

Good News!

2010-03-30T17:31:00.000-07:00

Jim is back home!!!!! For good!!!! He is now officially a JP Morgan employee in the Cleveland area. I was busy enough that I didn't think I was unhappy, however, just knowing he is here and not leaving makes me really happy!

Medical issues - the extra eye tests (ORC ? and fluorescein angiography) showed no abnormality. They want me to see a neurological opthomologist concerning the visual field defect. The second kidney screening appears normal. I'm feeling used and abused. Like they will want me to see every specialist in the world before they will finally come up with a prognosis. And what if they do finally pin something down? I kind of doubt I would let them cut or radiate any part of me so why not just forget further testing and what will be will be!

Haylee sent me a "Flat Haylee" in the mail. I'm supposed to write her a letter about what I do and where I take this little cardboard cutie. I better get to work on that.

Haylee was never much to talk on the phone when she was younger, however, Tralee has just discovered she likes talking to Grammy Char Char on the telephone. She can really jabber away. The only problem is, my hearing is not what it used to be and her enunciation is not always very clear. Frequently, her Mom has to clarify something because I commented totally unconnected to what Tralee was telling me. She is adorable though!

Yesterday Hunter pinched his finger in the cabinet drawer while I was on the phone with Leslie. Oh did he howl. It broke my heart. Reminded me of the time I let a big dumb horse bite Tralee's little finger. I was helping her feed it grass. I did not realize they used their teeth, it looked to me like they were grabbing the grass with their big lips. What about the time I single handedly dumped Brady and Haylee onto the asphalt of a busy highway well telling them to be careful. I did not realize that NaNa's rolling chair walker went into automatic lock when it sped up and I was going to run them across the road. I still get goosebumps when I think about that awful day. We were going to fly kites. I ended up with several stitches in my forehead. Hopefully, I've had my share of stupid stunts and will have clear sailing in the future!

Well Now What!

2010-03-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the Opthomologist feels I need additional testing. The field screening for the visual defect must have shown something after all. Now they want to shoot dyed vegetable oil into my veins to see if my eyes are leaking. I think that is what I heard the nurse say when she scheduled the appointment. I asked to speak to the Dr first to find out what was what and she said I could do that when I came in for the appointment.

Meanwhile, back at Dr G's office, my lab work showed an abnormality with my kidneys that he wanted additional testing for. I went in Saturday for that. Hopefully, I can get fixed fast if all my dear ones pray for me.

I called Todd yesterday and heard him laughing in the background. I love when that happens.

Grandma Pauline can still only put 50% of her weight on her fractured hip. She is becoming discouraged.

Uncle David had a hernia operation and an ear infection, but has recovered from both. Grandma Stoehr said he does not have any pain so they have to be careful to watch out for him. She's put Grandpa in charge of that for the time being. They just got back from Stephanie's Missionary Farewell. She will be going to Virginia. She will be a great missionary!

Jim was home this weekend. We went to the club on Friday night and had salad's and split a burger. He left today early so he could stop and see Todd. He said Todd looks great. He needed a spring jacket so Jim took him a couple. He said Todd jumped up and down until he thought the floor was going to crack. The caregivers said the last time I left he got upset and threw a tantrum for about 15 minutes, so Jim snuck out after Todd started eating. Nothing takes precedence over Todd eating.

Monday I went over to Kitchen's and watched the kids for a little while. They were great! I got to play with Ruby. It is so much fun to hold a baby again and have them smile and coo. Of course Claire cannot be undone. She needs attention too! The boys can pretty much take care of themselves!

I cleaned the house Tuesday night, erradicating most of the dog hair and changing sheets, wiping up floors, etc.

Wednesday I met Ethan, Susan and Miss Jeri at the Club. We ate and then Ethan and I came home to play for a while. We played Bocci Ball outside, but it was pretty cold. Then we did some reading, blew up some balloons and played with them for a while and Susan came in just when we were getting started at putting a puzzle together.

I had to clean part of the church this week. I went Thursday night. It was great. All the equipment I needed was available. The Relief Society room was rearranged and I love what they did to it. It's much more inviting and refreshing. Good job! Because last Sunday was Stake Conference, this week was not to bad. I was able to do some deep cleaning in all my classrooms and move things. I did a good job and it only took three hours. I felt good when I finished.

Great News! Three of my four active children attended class today and Sarah even gave me a hug when church was over. Owen did not come with his Mom again! I think if I had a 4-6 year old that did not want to come to church, they would come to church! But then, what do I know. We should not judge, right?

That's all for now!

Dr Appointments

2010-03-13T08:08:00.000-08:00

Dr G is a caring human being. He has always done his best to take care of my concerns, even though he has never found anything wrong with me. I went in with a sheet full and he addressed every one of them. The eye guy, Dr P, found a visual defect in the left eye when I went in for glaucoma, cataracts and mac d check. That prompted additional testing with an Ophthalmologist. Dr W did his own check and then said he wanted a second check on the visual defect test because he could find nothing wrong with my eyes. That means it could be neurological, so I go back Monday to have that checked and some lab work recommended by Dr G. All I have to say is because I am such a hypochondriac and think the very worst before I think at all, I no longer fear death because I've visited that probability in my mind endless times.

Lucy is over here because Jim & Holly are in Florida. I gave her a nice puffy blanket on the floor and she was sleeping on it when I came up here. The next time I looked down stairs, she had plopped herself right on the loveseat and I did not even have a cover on it. We had a talk and I had to get the vacuum because there was already a ton of black hair sticking to the sofa. She is a little stinker. I did let her in bed last night between two big bath towels. We went for a couple garbage pick up walks this morning. I bet we picked up about 20 plastic bottles, 50 beer and pop cans, a dozen cardboard coffee cups and a bunch of other miscellaneous plastic and paper wrappers. I wonder how people can be so inconsiderate!

We also found a lot of golf balls along the woods. I'm getting a pretty good stash and I told Jim he should get Brady and Haylee a club they can share so they can take these golf balls and practice in their back yard. Their back yard is huge and with the big ditch they will be able to learn to hit it pretty far.

Here's hoping the rest of this day is productive and not fraught with annoyances.

SICK!!!!!!

2010-03-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I have been really ill! This past week has made up for all the good health I've had over the past couple years. I've thought myself above getting ill because I take such care in exercising, eating right, studying the benefits of this and that with regard to health. Unfortunately, I must have made some kind of change that crossed the line and now I'm back to square one.

My husband and my Dr think I'm a bit looney, so do my children. They are right. But I'm a thinker and when something happens that I'm concerned about I can't let it go until I know everything I possibly can about the situation.

Now that I've caught some horrific virus from someone, I'm back on the track of, "Why did this happen? What am I doing wrong? What do I need to change?"

Luckily for me, I have a Dr appointment with my regular Doc for a regular checkup tomorrow. Not lucky for him. I have a one page list of questions and concerns. I know he loves me! He is a caring and concerned Doc and does not really deserve a patient like me.

On the bright side, I had a good couple weeks since my last post with regard to grandchildren finds. I decided last Friday to look for some Easter booty for the grandchildren. I found some great deals. Some pants for Brady and a shirt, a couple adorable outfits for Tralee, and some adorable PJ's and outfits for Hunter. There were some dresses for Haylee, but I was not sure if I should get her something similar to what I got her last time. I called Amy and she said sure, that Haylee was wearing one of the dresses right then. I had just left, so I turned around and went back to pick up two new dresses for Haylee. I love when that happens.

Then yesterday I ran out to pick up some Easter cards for the grandchildren, even though I felt like crap and should have been in bed but went to Marc's and found an amazing stash of cute and inexpensive books. I love that place. When you get there at the right time it's like magic. So I was able to add to the clothes, some cute books with a cute card!

I had to get it done so I could send it home with Jim. He came home this weekend and did not want to get near me. I couldn't blame him. We did wash the cars, and he's driving home in the rain right now. We also went to the club on Thursday for Pasta Night, Friday for Pizza (Jim & Holly showed up and joined us), and Saturday for a hamburger. It was great to have the club open again. We ate in the TV room away from the general public.

Jim told me to stay home from the Relief Society function Friday night and not to teach my class on Sunday until after my Dr appt. I agreed but now I'm wondering if Heavenly Father thinks we are hypocrites because my Kitchen Aid died today (after more than 30 years of devoted service) and Jim ended up spending two hours getting through Chicago. I'm sorry if I disappointed you Heavenly Father! Please forgive me!

We had a bit of sun the past few days! That is so heartwarming. I am so ready for green grass, flowers, birds and gardens!

A Happy Primary Day!

2010-02-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

I am happy to report Sarah, James and Nathaniel were all in class today. Owen's family was not at church. My self esteem went up a notch. Thank Heaven's, because it was pretty low. I've been praying pretty hard about this. We learned about Jesus as a young boy and how things were the same and how they were different. I don't think attention spans are the best at ages 4-5. When asked if they thought Jesus played video games, some thought he did. When asked about tag or hide and seek, some thought not. I have a theory about this, but I know better than to voice my opinion about some things on a public posting board lest I prove my insanity.

I sure shoveled a lot of snow this week. I really like shoveling snow, just like I like mowing lawns. On Thursday night I was really looking forward to parking the car in front of the drive and shoveling before I drove on the driveway. I was really annoyed to find some goofball had driven on my six inches of snow covered driveway all the way up to the garage door, had gotten out of their vehicle and walked up to the front door. I HATE having to shovel after someone drives on the snow and packs it down! It must have been someone wanting to clear the driveway for money. I was really ticked!

Design Engineering had a good February. I am grateful! Things seem to be pretty decent at work now without anyone being mean or nasty.

Jimmy got some good news at work! Grateful again! He knows to look up to Heavenly Father for blessings.

I just read family Patriarchal Blessings today. They are personal scripture and very enlightening and uplifting. I'm feeling the pull to get back to genealogy. I just wish my brain worked better!

Back To The Drawing Board!

2010-02-22T17:12:00.000-08:00

I was wrong. Sarah did not want to come into class Sunday. Owen stayed with his Mom in her class. Part of the lesson was to give the child a small gift. I gave them each a little pop up book. Sarah came in, but her Mom had to stay with us. I debated whether or not to give Owen his book after class, and gave in. I am now paranoid. Primary children have always enjoyed me as a teacher. I have worked really hard and prepared really good lessons for this class but cannot seem to reach them as a teacher. I asked our Primary President if she thought I was too scary looking. She laughed at me. I asked her to pray about it. I don't want to be a teacher in a class where the children are afraid to come into my class. If I would be released I would have time to concentrate on the extraction program. I can do that at home and no one needs to see me.

I'm getting to old to have to think and ponder. That doesn't really matter though. I'm still stuck with having to do it. I am very grateful that my eyes are feeling better tonight and my mind has left behind the fog it was in at work today. I am going to think "Happy Tomorrow" when I go to bed tonight. I believe what you dwell on right before sleep comes to be.

2010 Primary Olympics

2010-02-20T12:03:00.000-08:00

We had a Primary activity today. They did a Scripture Olympics Theme. It was a lot of fun. I had a group of six. Kyle and Eric came and Kyle was in my group. After the activity I followed them home and Leanna and I worked on a couple projects. That woman can really accomplish a lot in very little time. Kyle and I have a nice relationship and today I noticed that Eric is ready to be my friend too. That made me happy. They went to a scouting meeting and I came home. It is a beautiful day! Yesterday was beautiful too. The sun has been shining, which does not always happen around here. It is getting light earlier now and staying light longer. I love this time of year. The birds are singing and the geese are honking.

I'm listening to Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. So far I'm enjoying it. I started an audio book by Dean Koontz called Breathless but could not get past the first CD. It was not uplifting! The third movie of Gerald Lund's series The Work & the Glory was on the BYU channel last night and since I sent back my Netflix movie without watching it, this was much better. Somehow I received a bromance (whatever that is) called "Love You Man". I have no clue how that got on my list, but after reading the back I put it back in the mail.

I almost have my Primary lesson prepared for tomorrow. Oh, and speaking of Primary, today Sarah came up to me and wanted me to pin her Olympic Badge on her. I hope that is a sign that she likes me now and will be coming to class without shying away!

As it is so nice out and my car is FILTHY, I believe I shall go wash it!

Regarding my last post about someone thinking I am not a nice person, well I think things are mended. I am trying, and anyone who wants to can give me constructive criticism.

Now Wait Just One Minute!

2010-02-17T18:23:00.000-08:00

I am not a bad person! Just so you know! I'm quite amazed sometimes when people get the impression I am not nice! Unfortunately it has happened a few times in my life. And it is generally someone out of the blue that I genuinely like. What's up with that? It does give me room for reflection though. I suppose there is MUCH room for improvement in me as people take me for mean and nasty when I don't even realize it.

Jim was home this past weekend. Even though we do separate things part of the time it is just so nice to have him home. Especially in bed to help keep me warm with the thermostat at 55 degrees.

Ethan was over tonight. We had fun, read, studied his spelling words, played marbles, played cards. He is getting very tall!

Valentine's was fun for me this year. I began by getting the grandchildren cards and in the process of that I found some cute outfits for Hunter. Then I had to attempt to find something for Tralee, Brady and Haylee and I was blessed to find exactly the right thing when I just went out to get some chocolate hearts to include with the cards. Leslie called and said Tralee was happy with her little animal books. Leslie was happy with the outfits for Hunter and Tralee. Amy was happy with the clothes for Brady and Haylee and they fit! Haylee was happy with Brady's Huskie shirt. I am so excited when I can make my family happy! It brightens my days!

Let it Snow!

2010-02-06T13:18:00.000-08:00

I was very happy it was Friday yesterday because the weather prediction was high winds and snow. They were predicting 30 inches in Washington DC. After work I came home and enjoyed every minute of listening to the wind outside while I was snug in my warming blankets. I slept well and love when that happens. I spent time on the computer before bed catching up and working on February accounting. I love accounting and numbers, especially when things are not dire.

Unfortunately, this past week has been a horrific one with the stock market. It seems no matter what line of work my husband is in, it is a stressful situation. He has got to be made of strong steel by now to have survived this long.

After making a good and wholesome breakfast, I went back to my warm bed and worked on Primary. I made a few calls because our lesson includes finding out how the children were named. Fun stories. I managed to take a short nap and finally crawled out of bed around 1 pm.

Jimmy called and talked to me for a while. I know how busy he is so I certainly appreciate him taking the time.

I lucked out, sort of, with the snow. The driveway, except in front of the garage doors, was swept clean by the wind. The sidewalk up to the front door however, was about four feet tall. It took me a couple hours of shoveling to get the job done. It took me longer because I took my cd player out and finished the Audio Book I've been listening to. It has been extremely entertaining! It is called American Wife and is supposed to be a spoof about Laura Bush. I can't help but think it is extremely accurate although the names have been changed. I understand now why the Bush Presidency was such a debacle. I had high hopes when I thought he was a man of faith. Now I think I had a totally wrong impression of both their characters. Only in the United States of America could someone who has no business leading this great nation be elected to do so.

Nap Day! Chicken Divan Enhanced!

2010-01-31T16:36:00.000-08:00

It was so nice to come home from church to a clean house and a nice warm couch. I was up until midnight getting the house cleaned after having Lucy (neighbor's dog) for the week. We had a good week together. She is pretty obedient.

I made a great batch of Chicken Divan and went to couch with the electric throw I received for my birthday last year. The recipe is from my Mother-in-Law and my husband really likes it. I've altered it over the years and really like the new version. I use Cream of Mushroom Soup instead of Cream of Chicken if I'm making a small batch and need just one can. I put in twice as much lemon juice and twice as much Curry Powder. I load it up with broccoli and add some carrots for the beta carotene. Today I discovered my mayonnaise was past the expiration date so I left it out. It's not healthy anyway. It didn't matter. Instead of Corn Flake Crumbs, Pretzel Crackers work just as well and you don't need to add extra butter. It was an awesome batch.

My Primary lesson was a success today. Sarah came to class. I sent her a card last week asking her family to pray with me so she could enjoy coming into her new primary class. She is a sweet girl. Owen did not come today. That made me sad. I adore all my new children!

We have about seven women expecting babies in our ward. What's going on? I'm sure glad I'm past all that.

I'm making a Cherry Cheese Torte for Dan's birthday tomorrow. He's an employee at DEI and since Nancy is gone I decided to make the dessert rather than go buy a cake. Dan said he would love Pecan Pie, but the Cherry Cheese Torte would work too.

My hubby has a cold. I wish I could take care of him but I know his Mommy will do as good or better job than I could. He's in good hands.

Time to go make some popcorn and see if there is a good movie on.