BLOGIVERSARY

I can't believe it's been three years of blogging. How do I condense that to give you all a brief overview? On May 7, 2006, I published my very first post. You can read it here . Since that time, I have created six more blogs, one for my ongoing book reviews, three that I stored reviews for each year; one for my Book Around the States Challenge, and one for my TBR list. I think I'm getting rid of the three blogs for the reviews of each year and not do that anymore. Fourteen more books and I will be done with the Book Around the States Challenge. I just really like the colors in that blog. My TBR list in May of 2006 had 76 books on it. The last time I updated it, there were 491. Yikes. I find it interesting that I removed ten books from the original list without reading them (just lost interest) and there are seventeen still on my TBR list. I feel another personal challenge coming on. I have read and reviewed 323 books, joined 39 challenges and have just one left to finish. I had participated in 29 memes, lists, tags, or those funny web things where you learn weird things about yourself. In fact, I'm in the mood for a meme. Anyone seen a good one lately? I learned some fun things about blogging but mostly keep it pretty basic. Visiting other blogs has been fun, but started to really take a lot of time, so I try to limit visiting so much. Not to mention that those visits accounted for much of the huge growth of that TBR list. In January, 2008, I started a monthly journal entry to recap that month. I think my niece, Alyson, got me started on that and it's been such a good thing for me. Of course, the highlight of my life in the last three years was the birth of my grandson, Lincoln. He is such a joy. What else . . . I turned fifty, went on a cruise, was a Relief Society President for a while, hit a huge milestone at work, lost weight, gained it back, I can't remember what else, I'm old. All I know is that blogging has become a part of my routine. It's how I keep in touch with relatives (even those who live in the same town), and I meet new and interesting people all the time. Thanks to all of you for visiting and leaving comments.

April Agenda

April is National Poetry Month as well as Sexual Violence Awareness Month. Does anyone else see the contradiction here? The Boston Marathon is held on the third Monday of April and Arbor Day is the last Friday.

The gemstone for April is a diamond and the flower is either a daisy or the sweet pea. I love diamonds even though I don't have many and I like both daisies and sweet peas.

I did a lot of traveling in the month of April--two trips to Provo and one to Salt Lake City-- which explains the audio books I listened to this month. Much more happening in April than in March anyway.

April 4-5 General Conference. I like to stay at home and watch General Conference twice a year. There are always great talks and spiritual uplifts. If I could only stay awake through the whole thing. I really enjoyed Elder Holland's talk as well as Elder Bednar's.

April 8-12 Susan was the first of several who came to visit for Easter weekend. Mark, Greg, JennyLou and Katie also came out from Salt Lake. So I spent a lot of time at Mom's playing games and eating but missed the egg dyeing because I had to work. Mom, Cheya, Susan and I ate lunch at JB's on Thursday and tried to plan a sisters' trip. I don't know when we will ever pull this off.

April 12-14 I drove to Provo for training on Monday and Tuesday. Stayed at La Quinta on the south end of Provo. I had gone out early to get a little shopping done, but Provo is completely closed down on Sunday. Rats. The training seemed to be a bit of a repeat of other trainings but I did get in a couple of great meals. For lunch on Monday, we walked to Ottavios, an Italian restaurant on Center Street. I had a chicken wrap and tomato basil soup. The soup was scrumptious. That night I got soup and salad to go from Zupa's, my favorite place in Provo--Lobster Bisque and Pina Colada salad. Ymmmm. Tuesday, Preston took Julie, Linda and I to lunch at Los Hermanos, a lovely Mexican restaurant just down the block. It was a working lunch but great food.

April 17-19 I went to Salt Lake to visit the kids and grandkid. Again, it's all about the food. Friday night, we ate at Archibalds in Gardner Village. I had prime rib which was pretty tasteless. After we ate, we took Lincoln to see the animals they had in pens. He was pretty fascinated with the geese. It's a really pretty place. The next day we went to The District so I could do some shopping and ate at the Red Robin. I had a great hamburger and Lincoln had fun flirting with a little girl from the next table. I am disappointed in the shopping there. Cassie and I went to JC Penny's then drove to Jordan Landing for a bit more shopping. Friday night, we played dice and I won!!! The next night Cassie and I watched a video.

April 19 My lesson in Relief Society this month was "God Loves and Helps All of His Children," a talk by Bishop Keith B McMullin, 2nd Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric.

April 22-23 Traveled to Provo for a manager meeting on Thursday. I had to give a presentation on Recognition. It went okay. The meeting was a little overwhelming as usual. Lots to do.

Work - I'm glad this month is over. This is the slowest month we've had for ages. Too many people leaving Vernal, I guess.

Books -I read or listened to ten books and 2153 pages. The page count is down because four or these books were audio. My favorites were West with the Night, the memoirs of a female pilot who was the first to fly across the Atlantic traveling east to west; and North River, a great novel about New York City in the thirties. I started one book but didn't finish it. I am letting myself do that more often. There are too many good books to read to waste time on one I don't enjoy.

TV - I am getting into Castle, a great detective show with a twist. Sad to see Chuck and Julianne voted off last week. Up to that point, I had pretty well agreed with the voting. I like Melissa, but I can't imagine she will be able to dance that well with a cracked rib. My favorites are still on American Idol. I think I am still watching America's Next Top Model and Celebrity Apprentice because there's not much else on those nights. I thought Joan and Melissa Rivers were such babies last week.

Movies - Cassie and I watched Slumdob Millionaire at Jordan and Stacey's house. I really liked it and can easily see why it won the Oscar.

Overall Impression - It has been raining a lot which I like because everything is so pretty and green. However, the wind has also been raging and I hate that. My lawn is growing like gangbusters and I can't get my lawn mower started. Plus I need to spray the weeds but it rains every weekend. I hate yard work, but I really want to plant a garden this year. We'll see.

March Madness

The name of March comes from ancient Rome, when March was the first month of the year and named Martius after Mars, the Roman god of war. In Rome, where the climate is Mediterranean, March is the first month of spring, a logical point for the beginning of the year as well as the start of the military campaign season.

The equinox, named the vernal or spring equinox in the northern hemisphere and the autumnal equinox in the southern hemisphere, occurs on dates varying from 19 March to 21 March.

March is famous for the Ides of March when Julius Caeser was assassinated, the beginning of spring (except in Vernal, UT), Ash Wednesday and Mardi Gras. It is also Women's History Month. (I see a pattern for my reading next year.)

March has also been an extremely quiet month for me. This may be a short post.

March 2 - The Bachelor is over. Jason chose Melissa then broke up with her on national TV. The cad. It seems he loved Molly after all.

March 7 - Attended the Women's Conference with Mom. A local woman, Cherry Colton, spoke and shared some great missionary experiences, especially about shortsheeting the bed intended for her mission president's wife's friend, Tommy. Turns out that Tommy was President Thomas S Monson. Funny story. The other speaker was Richard Paul Evans. He was a fantastic speaker. His talk covered five main topics. 1. We all have a divine nature. 2. Forgiveness. He told a great story about a man who borrowed money from him and then did not repay it and how angry he was. How he came to forgive the man was beautiful. 3. Take a chance. 4. Adversity. Evans has Tourette's Syndrome and he discussed how this adversity shaped him into the man who is able to write such beautiful stories. 5. Love is the basis for all we do. It was a very inspiring and moving talk.

March 12 - Went to the temple for our Ward Temple Night. I work at the temple every Wednesday evening so it had bee quite a long time since I attended a session all on my own. There were only three others from the ward but a total of 65 people were in the session.

March 22 - I gave the Relief Society lesson on President Monson's talk, "To Learn, to Do, to Be." It was given to priesthood holders but also applied to all church members in how they fulfill their callings.

Work - We had a great Saturday on the 29th, but overall it has been pretty slow. There are three pregnant women who are all due in July and three more going through divorces. So things are kind of crazy.

Books - I read ten books this month. My favorites were Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver and The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. In fact, I've mooched another copy of The Kissing Hand to share since it was such a cute children's book. I read 3063 pages. I'm surprised I didn't read more since it was such a slow month. Oh, that's right, I watched TV.

TV - It is amazing how much time you can spend watching reality TV. I think the only non-reality shows I watch are Gray's Anatomy and The Practice. Well, I did just start watching Castel which comes on right after Dancing with the Stars and enjoying it very much. I'm glad to see Steve Wasniak (sp) finally voted off DWTS. Nice guy but bad dancer. I'm predicting Gilles will win because he is sooooo good but then I also like Melissa from The Bachelor. So glad I don't have to listen to Holly giggling any more. I also watch America's Top Model which surprises me, it is so campy and the women so mean. I must enjoy watching beautiful women tear each other apart. Celebrity Apprentice is another show that cracks me up. I'm also surprised at how good some of these celebritys are. Glad to see Dennis Rodman go. The censors are probably glad as well. And I am addicted to American Idol. Man, you really get into these singers' lives, don't you? My favorites are Alyson and Chris, but I wouldn't be surprised if Adam won. Fantastic voices for all three. I don't like Adam's singing style all that much but I love to watch him. He is so entertaining.

Movies - None, nada, zilch. Who had time to watch movies when I need to see what's going on with the dancers, singers, models, doctors, detectives and Trump's minions.

Overall Impression - I have no life. I can live with that.

Mystery Gift Game

I saw this over on Julie's blog and jumped right on the bandwagon. Here's how it goes:

The first three people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be.
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
The catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on your blog.The first 3 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!Who's in?

I'm very curious to see who dares to have me actually make something for them but I will give it my best shot.

February Focus

February is named for a Latin term that means purification. It seems the Romans held a purification ritual on February 15th every year. Hmmm, maybe I will try that next year. In Finnish, the month is called helmikuu, meaning "month of the pearl"; when snow melts on tree branches, it forms droplets, and as these freeze again, they are like pearls of ice. Sounds pretty, doesn't it?

February is Black History Month which many of you have seen fit to honor by reading books to learn more about our country's balck history. Other important days include -- Feb. 2, Groundhog's Day, a very meaningful and important day; Feb 14, Valentine's Day (blech); Feb 29, Leap Day, a very weird day; and, most importantly, Feb 4, my birthday.
Good thing I've added this little information piece since it's been a really slow news month.

Feb 4 -- As mentioned above, it was my birthday. It was very low-key. A friend from church, Julie Justice, took me to lunch at 7-11. (It's a restaurant in Vernal that's been there long before the convenience stores were created.) She gave me an LDS fiction which looks like a fun read. How can you go wrong with a book? That evening was spent doing my shift at the temple, a perfect way to end the day.
Feb 5 - Feb 8 -- I took a trip to Salt Lake to visit my kids and get my baby fix. (see previous post) Lincoln is hardly a baby any more but toddler fix sounds wrong.
Feb 14 -- I went to the movie with Lisa Labrum who is a co-worker. Her husband was out of town so a matinee on Valentine's Day sounded great. We saw "Confessions of a Shopholic." I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. It was very funny and pretty relevant to our current economic mess. Mothers, take your children to see this movie to teach them the dangers of credit card debt.
Feb 22 -- I gave my Relief Society lesson based on the conference talk, "Winning the War Against Evil." I am so blessed to be able to present the lesson to a group of sisters who participate and offer such good insights. These lessons would be so boring if I was the only one talking. It's an amazing talk printed in The Ensign and I learned a lot.

~~~~~

Work - We didn't come close to our goals this month. Things are slowing down so much. Blame it on a rotten economy and the fact that we live in an oilfield town.

Books - I read eight books this month but True North took so long and was very boring. I only read 1965 pages, less than half of last month's total. Of course, one book was an audio and another was a children's book. Four of the books were rated a 4/5. I rated one book 4.5, another 4.75 and finally, gave out one 5. Overall, that means I had a very good reading month. The "5" book was A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny, a mystery set in a small town in southern Quebec. I'm really enjoying Penny's series and look forward to the next one.

Movies - I saw THREE movies this month. That's almost unheard of. Cassie and I saw "Taken" with Liam Neesom, very riveting. He's such a good actor. I mentioned "Confessions of a Shopaholic." The last movie I watched at home on a quiet Sunday afternoon: "The Errand of Angels." It is a movie about an LDS sister missionary is Austria and was pretty good for that genre.

TV - I have been faithfully watching The Bachelor. Since the finale took place in March, I'll save my comments for next month. I'm watching American Idol for the first time this season and thinks it's great. I hate it when a singer I like puts in a bad performance but have been very impressed overall. Plus I really like Simon. He's incredibly mean but hilarious as well. I think most of these contestants have watched the show from the get-go so they shouldn't be so surprised when he puts them down, but they always are. I remain a Gray's Anatomy devotee although I think Derik's melt-down was over the top. And of course, I caught a lot of the Awards shows. I must be in the minority but I thought Kate Winslet's dress was ugly. But I was so glad she won. I've always liked her even though I haven't seen this particular performance. Hugh Jackman was a great host and who knew Anne Hathaway was such a good singer?

Overall impressions - I managed to jot down two things I was grateful for: midwinter thaws (this was right before that huge snowstorm hit on the 2nd) and my family. I obviously need to spend more time concentrating on this piece. We did have some awful weather at the first of the month, but it is truly looking like spring is just around the corner. I love those 60 degree February days, don't you?

Weekend Getaway

I just returned from four days in Salt Lake, visiting my daughter, son, daughter-in-law and grandson. It was nice to take a couple days off work and just get away. I like Salt Lake City. I think I could live there. I've even narrowed down living choices to the west side, after driving east from Jordan's house and observing the pollution along the Wasatch Mountains. I don't want to breath that stuff on a daily basis. While nothing earth-shattering happened, here's a run-down of my activities:

Thursday - I slept in which was lovely and made me nice and alert for the trip to the city. Of course, I had a audio book to listen to and chocolate to eat. I always stop at Jordan Landing for a bit of shopping before heading to Jordan's house. After browsing Michaels and Dress Barn and finding nothing to buy, I head to Bath and Bodyworks. I always spend money here. It's part of my emergency preparedness plan. I know food is important, but don't you think that I should have a supply of anti-bacterial soap as well? The fact that it smells so good is just a bonus. The real reason for my shopping spree is the Barnes & Noble gift card that is burning a hole in my wallet. I love that store. After going through the Mystery section, Fiction, Fantasy, Non-Fiction and Teen sections, I have my arms loaded with eight books. All but three are on my TBR list. Those three are Agatha Christie books which are on sale, how can I go wrong? And it's only $97. As I drive towards Jordan's house, I realize that the gift card is still burning a hole in my wallet. Jeez! All that is forgotten when I get a big hug from my grandson. He is so cute and endlessly fascinating to watch.
Friday - More time spent playing with Lincoln and visiting with Stacey. Jordan leaves work early because he is covered all over with a messy, itchy rash. We finally convince him to go to the doctor and get medicine. That evening we eat dinner at Panda Express since we are in a hurry to get to the Draper Temple open house. Cassie treats me for my birthday. Isn't she sweet? I had never eaten there before and it is really good. Jordan takes the baby home and Stacey, Cassie and I head up to the temple. Luckily, we are not too late and get to take the tour. It is a beautiful temple and lights up that hill on the southeast end of the valley.
Saturday - Jordan, Lincoln and I go to Best Buy to pick up his flat screen TV. I didn't get to actually see the TV but the box is huge. I play on the computer while Lincoln naps, thinking I will sneek in some shut-eye myself the last hour of his nap. Unfortunately, Lincoln takes a very short nap and thinks I should play instead of sleeping. He is very hard to say no to. That night we eat at Iggy's. Very good food and very noisy. Lincoln loves the french fries. Cassie and I go see a movie, "Taken" with Liam Neeson. It is a fast-paced thriller and Neeson is very good.
Sunday - Stacey made delicious pancakes. Her parents had brought back some coconut syrup from Hawaii which I really liked. I pack up, hit the gas station and head for Barnes and Nobles. Don't forget I still have that gift card.
It's 10:15 and the store doesn't open until 11??? Rats. I spend the next forty-five minutes writing down the books I already bought on my TBR list so I don't forget and buy them again. I listen to more of the audio CD. I stand at the door with ten other people for five minutes until they finally decide to open. Quickly I find three more books to buy and head to the check-out stand. As I pull out my credit card, I finally notice the gift card. Can you believe I almost forgot it again? I now have enough books to last until the Millennium. At least I have a two-years supply of something. I hope the electricity lasts as long. The trip home is uneventful, cloudy but no snow except for some slush and snowpack east of Strawberry. I won't complain about that. Well, I have to go unpack, find a place for all those books and maybe find time to actually sit down and read. Phew!

January Journal

January is named for Janus, the god of the doorway; the name has its beginnings in Roman mythology, coming from the Latinword for door (ianua) - January is the door to the year.

January is . . . . National Careers in Cosmetology Month, National Eye Health Care Month, National Fiber Focus Month, National Hobby Month, National Soup Month, Hot Tea Month, Oatmeal Month, Prune Breakfast Month.

This picture is called January from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. You can see it better on Wikipedia.

There, I've added a little color and culture to my monthly post. Let's see how long I can keep this up. I made a resolution at the first of the year to eat better and exercise more so I can lose weight. I've exercised three times and lost .6 ounces. Woohoo!! It's been a stressful month, what else can I say? Stress = chocolate. Here's my January happenings.

1st - I failed to mention in my December review that we had a New Year's Eve Party at Mom's house. Since we were still there on the lst, I will tell you a little about it. I can't remember what we ate for dinner. Late we had sparkling juices: Lingonberry-Apple, Peach, Black Currant, Cherry, and the perennial favorite, Red Grape. I really liked the Peach and Red Grape. Cherry is okay. Myke and Cheya brought an assortment of cheese and crackers. There were some really good cheeses. We played games and watched the ball drop, then hurried home to bed. Aaah, good times.

3rd - The bank opened on Saturday for the first time. I worked along with Beau, Amanda and Shayla. It was pretty dead, but I got the Christmas tree down. What would they do without me?

Big gap here with nothing going on.

17th - Cassie drove out last night to spend the weekend. Even though, I had to work that day, it was so good to have her here. She gave me an early birthday present, a book she had had printed with pictures from our Canadian cruise. It was so fun to look through and remember all the fun we had on that trip. Saturday night, we saw Marley and Me at the theater. I read the book so there were no surprises, but I still cried at the end. Jennifer Anniston and Luke Wilson are such likeable actors that it made the movie fun to watch. We ate at Golden Corral before the movie so I managed to forego the usual buttered popcorn. There was just no room. Hmmm, no weight loss this month, can't understand it. She even went to church with me on Sunday. At least one of us is keeping up with her resolutions. I took Monday off and we just sat around the house until she had to leave at one. Not a very exciting weekend, but it was just good to have her home for a short time.

20th - Steve and Verona's friend from Russia (her name is Luda) made dinner for the family and some friends on her last day in the country. She spent the whole day cutting up food into these little, symmetrical bits. My favorite was the borscht. She made another soup with chicken in it and three different kinds of salad. One had eggs and corn, another beets and corn and other things; and the last had dill pickles and other things. So I can't remember what was in the salads, but they were bery good. And the roasted potatoes were heavenly. Again, why am I not losing weight? So, goodby to Luda and thanks for the dinner. I really enjoyed the time I spent with you. (Only twice, really, but she's pretty memorable. Always smiling and laughing and very pretty.)

23rd Annie went in for surgery after it was discovered that she had Stage 3 breast cancer. The surgery went really well and we hope that the radiation and chemo treatments she has to endure will get the rest of it. Keep her in your prayers. She also cut off her long, beautiful black hair and donated it. She looks so cute with her new haircut.

25th - I teach the fourth Sunday lesson in Relief Society, so I thought I would let you know what I'm teaching each month. The lessons always come from the previous General Conference talks. This month's talks was President Uchtdorf talk, "The Infinite Power of Hope." I have to admit I have felt pretty hopeless this month, probably a natural letdown after the holidays, but I really struggled with this lesson. It's a beautiful talk, though, and I have felt better ever since. I recommend that everyone read it. If you don't get the Ensign, go to LDS.org and search for the talk's title. My last three lessons have been based on talks about having joy and hope in these tough times. One sister shared a piece from the Desiderata which was beautiful. She just brought me a copy of it so I'll just quote that particular part: "Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should." One of these days, I'll post the whole thing.

25th and 26th Wayne visited from Virginia. We sat around talked and then had sloppy joes and palyed games on Monday. Vernal got bombarded with a huge snow storm Sunday and Monday, and driving was treacherous. But it's the end of January and that snow won't last long. Plus we really needed the moisture. Spoken like a true Vernalite.

30th Mom took a bunch of us to JB's for our annual birthday lunch. Besides, Mom and I, there were Cheya and Myke; Steve, Verona and Dominic. I had a patty melt and smelled like onions the rest of the day. This is a fun tradition right in the middle of the January doldrums.

~~~~~

Work As I mentioned earlier, we are now open on Saturdays which means I work every other week. It's something I can live with. Things have really slowed down as the oilfield is laying people off. Some of this is seasonal and some is due to the economy. It's pretty scary, isn't it? (refer back to my entry for the 25th)

Books I deal with stress by burying myself in books and managed to read 13 books and 4565 pages. I didn't count one book that I ddin't finish (too boring) but I did count the 64 pages I did read. Six of the books were under 250 pages and quick reads. I didn't rate any book a 5 but my highest rating was a 4.75 for Going Postal by Terry Pratchett. It was hilarious and the characters are fantastic. Thanks to Cheya for introducing me to this wonderful author. I also gave a 4.75 for Still Life by Louise Penney, a mystery series set in a small town in southern Quebec. It was a very well-written mystery with a great sense of place and characters. I am currently reading True North by Jim Harrison. It takes place in Michigan. Mark lent it to me for my Book Around the State Challenge. I'm only on page 28 but it hasn't pulled me in yet. I hope it gets better.

TV I'm watching The Batchelor. I missed last week when he sent three girls home at once, but it was the three I wanted to see go. I'm still watching Gray's Anatomy. I hope Stacy and Jordan will let me watch it on Thursday when I'm at their house. I really enjoy watching MASH and Cosby reruns, and the occasional movie.

Movies Besides Marley and Me, I watched Sleepless in Seattle on TV. It's one of my favorite movies and I've seen it countless times. Still love it.

Overall Impression Cassie is writing a blog almost daily on things she is grateful for. Amazing posts. I tried to write down something each day in my daytime that I was grateful, and remembered to do that three times. I'm pathetic. So here's what I wrote: On the first - new beginnings; the second - good books; and the fourth - sunshine. I really am grateful for so many things, I just need to focus. I will try to do better in February, in fact, I'm off to write down something right now.

December Diary

December is always such a busy month getting ready fo Christmas, having Christmas and then recovering from Christmas. So here's a run-down of how I filled the hours.

2nd - We had the bank Christmas party. I won't tell you where, but it was the worse party ever. The food was not good and the service terrible. What a waste.
5th thru 9th - I went to Salt Lake to do my Christmas shopping. Susan and I stayed at Mark's house Friday and did some marathon shopping on Saturday and Sunday. I was amazed at the deals she found. While not so lucky as she was, I was still able to finish most of my shopping. We ate that night at Joe's Crab Shack at Jordan's Landing. Susan, Kevin, Mark, Cassie, Stacey, Jordan, Lincoln and I were all there. Lincoln entertained us with his Incredible Hulk impersonation. (He's so talented) The food was very good and the service great. Every so often, all the waiters would gather in the middle of the restaurant (our table was right in the middle of their gathering) and do a dance to whatever song was playing. It was fun. We ended the night playing dice at Mark's, except for Jordan's clan who went home to bed. On Sunday, we all went to see Jason and Rachel's baby get blessed. Robbie is such a cute baby. Lincoln was not his most best-behaved and I am not very good at disciplining him. Just ask his dad. But he sure was interested in Susan's glasses. That night I stayed with Stacey and Jordan and got to babysit Lincoln the next day while Stacey got some extra hours at work. We had fun as usual. On Tuesday I drove my overloaded car home and piled all those boxes and bags in the living room.
11th - I wrapped the presents, and wrapped and wrapped and wrapped. I hate wrapping presents. I had bought white paper and red paper to go with a snowman theme. They looked pretty but after hours of wrapping, I no longer cared.
12th - The tree got put up, finally. It's the only the twelfth, why do I feel guilty for not having my tree up until now?
13th - I went to see Twilight with Lisa again. Julene Richards was there so she joined us. It was her fourth or fifth viewing. Cheryl Abplanalp and Sherrie Calder sat with us also. I thought if I saw the movie again, I would like Edward better. Ennh.
16th - Ward Christmas party. Much better food and entertainment. Ron Litton and his family performed. They did some Christmas songs but mostly Beatle music which I liked. I left when Santa got there. It's none of his business whether I've been naughty or nice. Does anyone else think he's just a bit nosy and what about him coming down chimneys? Weird.
19th - We had a shorter version of our progressive dinner and just visited Mom's, Steve and Verona's and Myke and Cheya's. Still, we had fun.
20th - A few more presents arrived plus I did some more shopping. I swear I ws finished, but noooooo. So that meant more wrapping. Good grief!
23th - Cassie made it safely from Salt Lake. At 10:30, Jordan called to say they were on their way. Naturally, I stayed up to wait for them. Just the first of a few nights of little sleep. Lincoln slept in the living room this night but had a hard time getting settled in.
24th - It's Christmas Eve and I had to work until three. The bank wasn't very busy although we did have a customer show up just as we were all leaving about at 3:30. Stacey, Lincoln, and Cassie joined me for lunch at La Cabana. Jordan went hunting with his friends. That night the whole family gathered at Mom's for our annual Christmas Eve dinner and program. The dinner was ham and funeral potatoes. Yummy. There was so much to eat. Greg and Jenny Lou were there with their dog, Apache. Lincoln was interested in the dog but apprehensive. I read the Christmas story from the scriptures, we sang a few Christmas songs and the younger kids performed. Another impersonation from Lincoln. What a ham. Now he claps for himself. Then we watched a video that Katie had made from old Christmas Eve clips. It was so funny and very well done. Then it was time for home and bed. I stayed up and watched Jordan and Stacey get Lincoln's car ready for him. So nice not be in that position any more.
25th - Christmas Day. We finally dived into the huge pile of presents. Lincoln got more than he knew what to do with but it was so much fun watching him ride in his car and beat his drums. My presents were amazing, just what I wanted. Stacey made a delicious breakfast casserole that we scarfed right down. I really appreciated not having to do much for breakfast this year. While Lincoln napped, we watched The Holiday and napped also. Later that day, we went back to Mom's to work on the ham and other leftover goodies and to play games. It was a great Christmas. I know Stacey and Jordan won't be spending too many more Christmases in Vernal, if any, so it was great having the opportunity to have them this year. Cassie thinks she and I should take a trip one of these Christmases. That sounds like so much fun.
26th - I had to go to work and Stacey, Jordan, and Lincoln headed back to the city. That was so sad. Cassie got to sleep in and play more games. In fact, the next few nights, we played a lot of games at Mom's.
27th - I helped at a wedding luncheon for Kenny Richards, Julene's son. They had soup and bread bowls which was kind of messy, but the soups were really good. Mark and Davis came out from Salt Lake, so it was back to Mom's house to play more games.
28th - I gave my RS lesson from President Monson's talk, Finding Joy in the Journey. I think it turned out all right. Cassie left to go home about seven. I always feel so let down when she leaves. It's so easy and comfortable having her at home even though I think she gets a little bored.
31st - New Years Eve. We had a Mexican dinner at Mom's and stayed up until midnight. It's getting harder and harder for me each year.

Work - Things are quite slow but we made our goals for the month and the year. Hallelujah! We are going to start being open on Saturdays which is going to be a huge adjustment but I think it will be okay.

Books - Who has time to read? Actually I did manage to squeeze a few in, but only six. I debated which challenges to join for next year and have decided not to join any right now. Maybe some that start later, but I'm really going to just read what I feel like reading.

TV - I've caught Sherlock Holmes on the KBYU channel a couple of times. It's pretty fun to watch. Even though I don't watch TV a lot, it was good to have some other options. Maybe this satellite TV will be okay.

Overall impressions - The mild weather of November is long gone. We had major storms on the 24th and 25th and I was so glad none of my kids had to drive in it. Then it was just really cold, falling below below zero most nights. It's been an interesting year, probably my best and most challenging at work. I've enjoyed working at the temple so much. I got released as Relief Society President and am back to teaching which I love. The presidential election has come and gone, it will be interesting to see the changes that Obama will make. I sure hope he gets some divine inspiration as the country is in such a bind right now. Watching Lincoln grow older was certainly my favorite activity this year. Being a grandma rocks. And I got to go on my first cruise with Cassie and Julie and it was a blast (most of the time). And I managed to do a journal entry for each month this year. I hope I can continue to do that in 2009. Well, Happy New Year, everyone.

Christmas Meme

Stacey at Magnum Momma posted this festive meme along with some wonderful photos of the cutest kid in the world. So I copied the meme and you'll have to visit her blog to see the pictures. And, yes, there are a hundred other things I should be doing, but who's counting?

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I wrap until I'm sick of it. Then I pull out the bags.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. I have a closet full of decorations, enough to do five trees with different themes.

3. When do you put up the tree? This year, it was the 12th. And I've only turned the lights on once. We have a family progressive party each year to see the different trees. Mine was off limits because I didn't even have time to get the boxes off the floor.

4. When do you take the tree down? New Year's Day

5. Do you like Egg Nog? Of course, it's fattening, isn't it?

6. Favorite gift received as a child? A stuffed kitten. I always loved soft, furry things.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Jordan and Stacey. They always have to tell me exactly what to get because I never have a clue.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Myself. Now there's a gift that is always appreciated and loved.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, I think I have twelve. This year, I've put up a set made from corn husksthat Cassie gave me last year (it's amazing), a Jim Shore set (also from Cassie and also amazing), and a Willa Rae set (I just love those homely faces).

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Neither. My computer is too slow for email and I'm too slow for snail mail.

11. Worst/Funniest Christmas gift you ever received? Funniest - The year I bought myself the Willow Tree nativity set and one for my mother also. Then I found out that she had bought herself the set. I complained about that all month. So I was pretty embarrassed when my daughter gave me a set for Christmas. No wonder, she wasn't very sympathetic about my complaints. I can't think of a worst which is a good thing.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? "White Christmas" I never fail to get tears in my eyes when the general walks in the dining room and all the men snap to attention.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I try to start early, I really do, but it's usually the first of December every year. I know if I bought something on sale in January, that person would have bought himself/herself the same thing long before Christmas rolled around again. And I have this unreasonable need to spend money in December so why fight it?

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Is that legal?

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? I love wassail and eggnog. We don't have a traditional Christmas meal but it's always good. And I love chocolate oranges and peanut brittle. And divinity, but no one makes it anymore.

16. Lights on the tree? I love lots of white lights on my tree but this year, I skimped. Yes, it was sheer laziness. When I do my Santa Claus tree, I use multi-colored lights.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Oh Holy Night by Andy Williams and Ave Maria by Josh Groban. I have tons of Christmas CDs. My favorites are Michael Crawford - A Christmas Album, and Amy Grant - A Christmas to Remember. Although Josh Groban and Alan Jackson are great as well. I could go on and on. I have some great CD's. There are a couple of Christmas songs that I loathe: I Heard the Bells, why, oh why do we have to sing it in church two or three times; and Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. (shudder)

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen...Rudolph! Lucky for me, I copied Stacey's meme and just didn't delete this section.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I put an angel on the top when I do my angel tree but this year, I have a snowman.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Grumpy shoppers. I know it's crowded and your feet hurt and everything's expensive or gone, but still. On the other hand, there are always those people who smile and help and are polite and exude Christmas cheer. I'm trying to be more like that.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? No favorite colors or themes. I change it every year.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? I think I've already answered this. We've done everything from Mexican to Italian to fondues (that was fun but it was before we all had little kids) This year I have a ham that a customer gave me so I requested funeral potatoes to go with. Love potatoes.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A new body, a different hairstyle, a bigger house. But I'll be satisfied to spend time with my family. Cassie, Stacey and Jordan are all coming, so I'm excited. And Lincoln. Really, what more could I want?

NOVEMBER NEWS

I've been doing so well with my monthly journals but nearly blew it with November. December is such a crazy month that I've almost forgotten what I did last month. I'll just have to do the best I can:

14th -16th I traveled to Salt Lake and spent time with my kids and grandson. Lincoln is endlessly entertaining with his Incredible Hulk imitation and just being himself.

18th The ward had a Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey and stuffing. I went, I ate, I left. I usually stay and help wash dishes but my feet hurt and DWTS was on. Sad, huh?

22nd I went to the matinee showing of "Twilight" with Lisa Labrum. She loved it; and I thought it was okay. Some of the characters were spot on like Charlie, Alice, Carlisle and James, but Edward was too pale with too-red lips. I know he's a vampire but none of the rest of the vampires looked quite as odd. But overall, I enjoyed and will probably watch it again now that I've seen Edward and can live with the disappointment.

26th- 30th I took time off to get ready for Thanksgiving. Cassie came home and I got to spend lots of time with her. She's great company. Julie also stayed at my house which was fun too. Of course, I went to bed while they were still playing games at Mom's and they got out of bed hours after me. Thanksgiving dinner was a Mom's as usual; and it was delicious as usual. Mark, Greg and Jenny Lou were here from Salt Lake; and Julie and Susan from Cedar City. Plus Annie's nephew from the Dominican. We played games: Dice, Hearts and Hand-and-Foot. Plus Kevin's Wii. What a crack-up watching everyone golf and bowl.

28th Julie, Cassie and I went and saw "Australia." I enjoyed it as well. What's not to enjoy. Nicole Kidman is a great actress and Hugh Jackman is excellent eye candy. I swear when he walks into the ballroom there was a collective female gasp in that theater.

Work I barely made my goals this month. It's the worst month I've had all year. Things are slowing down a little in Vernal what with oil prices so low and uncertainty over the new administration. It doesn't bode well for next year because my goals are going to be jacked up. We'll just have to do the best we can.

Books read or listened to
The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle - Fiction
Let Me Finish by Roger Angell - Memoir
Dewey, The Small-Town Library Cat (audio) by Vicky Myron - Memoir
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston - Historical Fiction
Conquering Gotham by Jill Jones - Non-Fiction (Great book)
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (Another great book)
The Cowboy's Christmas Miracle by Raeanne Thayne - Romance
Whatchagot Stew by Patrick McManus - Memoir

TV I finally got hooked up to Dish TV so I can watch TV in my living room again. I still am addicted to DWTS and Gray's Anatomy, but it's fun to see what's on all those other stations. Not that I get a lot of other stations because I got the cheapest package, but I'm loving KUED and KBYU. There sure are a lot of shopping stations on and I've watched a couple. I was almost convinced to buy the floor cleaner but remained strong. I'm going to avoid those stations from now on. My problem is that I go to the channel guide and see a great show I would like to see and realize I've missed the first hour. Oh well, it's just TV.

Overall impression It's been almost two weeks since November ended. I can't remember except it was beautifully warm and sunny. Now I'm sitting looking at my undecorated house waiting for the snow storm that's coming today. Yikes!

What Twilight Book Character Are You?

Alice Cullen
You are Alice Cullen. Your ability to foresee danger and misfortune doesn't diminish your bubbly optimism. You are a force to be reckoned with -- anybody with enough sense knows, you never bet against Alice.

Twilight Test from Dumb Spot!

It's true. I am a Twilightee. Loved the first book, enjoyed the rest. Edward Cullen is too good to be true which is why I didn't love him in the movie. How do you portray "too good to be true"? Still the movie was a lot of fun. I loved the casting of Charlie, Alice and James. I like Robert Pattinson but surely there was a better looking guy to play Edward. Climbing the tree looked a little hokey, but the scene in the dance studio was fantastic. All in all, a great escape.

October Outlook

Wow, October is over already. This month has really flown by, and the year is almost gone. How does that happen? It has been a beautiful month, warm with a nice brisk chill some mornings. I've been wearing my sweaters to work but mostly because I like to wear them. I did a lot of traveling this month so maybe that's why it flew by so fast.

Oct 4 & 5 - It was General Conference this weekend. I listened to some great talks and felt very uplifted as usual. My favorites were Joseph Wirthlin and Jeffrey Holland. They just made me feel good.

Oct 4 - Brett and Angela came out to visit and watch GC with Mom. Everyone went to Mom's to visit and play games, mostly Dice, I think.

Oct 15 - Attended a training in Provo with other managers. It was called Coaching the Coach and was all about how to help the Service Manager coach the tellers better. As always, there was a sales focus but mostly we worked on ways to improve customer service and customer perceptions. Pretty good stuff.

Oct 16 - Attended the annual Central Utah Managers meeting. It was held at a beautiful cabin-type mansion up Hobble Creek Canyon near Springville. While most of the fall colors were faded, it was still a beautiful setting. Our morning breakout session lasted too long so we had to grab lunch and eat during another session. I felt bad I didn't have a chance to walk around the outside of the home (now owned by BYU) and see the views. We got to meet the new Regional Banking President for our area. I think he's going to make a lot of changes. Have mercy. After the meeting, I drove to Salt Lake and met up with Mark and Susan and had dinner. I finally got to see Jason and Rachel's new baby, Robert Brent. He is so cute.

Oct 17 - Susan, Mark and I drove up Mill Creek Canyon to do some hiking. We planned to go to the top of the canyon but the road was iced over and very treacherous. We ended going on a hike farther down the canyon. It was pretty steep and I didn't make it to the top even though I went farther than I thought I could. My feet have still not recovered. I think I have a bone spur on my heel and the hike did not help. We also visited the State Capitol which I hadn't been to in years. Susan and I argued about where the lion statute had been sitting when we visited with our little kids. I'm sure I'm right and I have a picture to prove it. The doors were locked to the House of Representative room but we found an open door to the visitors' gallery and snuck in. And watched the planes taking off and landing at the airport from the windows. Not to mention the train that stopped in the middle of town for a half hour. Oh the fun!! We also drove out to Salt Air and around the Ochre Mountain range. That evening we met up with Cheya, Myke and Mom who were headed to Oregon, Cassie, Alyson, Greg, Jenny Lou and Katie at the Olive Garden for dinner.

Oct 18 - Before Susan left for Cedar City, she and I went to the Cannery in Sandy and bought several cases of food storage. My boxes are now sitting in the middle of the spare bedroom. I don't know where to put them!! Then I drove out to West Jordan to see Jordan, Stacey and Lincoln. Stacey had the house all decorated for Halloween. She is very talented. We met Cassie at Ruby River for dinner. I spent the night there and got to play with Lincoln in the morning and after church. He is so much fun and is such a happy little boy. Then it was time to go home. I made sure I filled up in SL since gas prices there are plummeting and Vernal is still gouging. What's the deal??

Oct 24 & 25 - A Weekend to Remember. Wells Fargo rewarded all the managers in the state who reached 103% of their goals in August and September with a weekend at the Grand American Hotel in Salt Lake. The hotel was built in order to provide Salt Lake with a 4-star hotel for the Olympics. It was verrrry nice. Cassie and I stayed in a suite on the 23rd floor with an excellent view of the Wells Fargo building. Planned???? There were two TV's, balconies, a huge and gorgeous bathroom, beds turned down each night with candy on the pillow and robes laid out, etc. Verrrry nice. (It bears repeating) The restaurant was a disappointment. The food wasn't that great and is without a doubt the most expensive meal I've ever paid for. I'll chalk that up to experience. Saturday, Cassie and I went to one author's seminar at the Salt Lake Book Festival. Raeanne Thayne has published over 30 romance novels; and her talk was mostly about the popularity of the genre even though many turn their noses up at it. She scorns the term "bodice rippers" even though those are still romances. It was an interesting discussion but I remain unconvinced. I enjoy books that have romance but I don't think they fall into the same category that Thayne discussed--romances always have a happy ending, the heroine is a strong woman who brings out the best in her man, the man learns to be more sensitive, etc. Still she was giving books away to anyone who asked questions or commented, so I did. I now own The Cowboy's Christmas Miracle. I love any type of Christmas book so I was glad to get this one. As you can see, this cowboy is missing his hat, but he looks properly sensitive. Cassie and I then went to Best Buy to look over printers. Mine is defunct. I didn't buy a printer but I did get a new hard drive. It's still in the package but someday I will hook it up and figure it out. We went back and lounged in the luxury of our room for a while. We were a little surprised when room service opened our door to turn down the beds. What are those fancy door bells for?? I asked him to come back in an hour. I definitely wanted our beds turned down and candy left since I had given my box to Stacey and Jordan the night before. Then it was time for the Recognition Banquet. We had some very nice hors d'ouevres and a good dinner. I had bought a new jacket from a catalog and wore it that night. Imagine my surprise to see the manager from Provo with a jacket made of the same material. The style was a little different but it looked the same. She has very good taste. Each manager was recognized and Cassie won the fresh-flower centerpiece at our table. Nice and short, everything a banquet should be. We then went to a movie and back to the room to sleep in (dare I say it again?) luxury.

Books read or listened to:
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly - A creepy fantasy in which a young boy finds himself in an alternative world where fairy tales are real and very sinister.
Winter Study by Nevada Barr (audio) - An Anna Pigeon National Park mystery which takes place in Michigan's Isle Royale National Park.
Bachelor Brothers Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson - The first book in a humorous series of two Canadians who turn their home into a literary inn.
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz - Another first in series book, this time a mystery, about a man who sees and talks to the dead. Very highly recommended by Cheya.
Dawn by Elie Wiesel - Historical fiction dealing with the freedom fighters in British-controlled Palestine.
Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (audio) - A Jane Marple mystery where the least popular man in the village is murdered and the list of suspects is huge.
The Devil's Bones by Jefferson Bass (audio) - This is the second book in a mystery series involving a forensics scientist who teaches and solves crimes.
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney - This book takes place in cold, cold Canada in 1867. It tells the tale of a murdered trapper and a mother's trek to clear her son of the murder.
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury - Two 13-year-old boys sneak out one night to see a carnival arrive in town in the wee hours of the morning. There is something very sinister about the carnival; and the two boys are quickly targets of the autumn people.
The Borrowers by Mary Norton - This book has been around for years and tells the story of a family of small people who live under the kitchen floor and borrow the things they need to live.
The Woods by Harlen Coben - Paul Copeland is a county prosecutor involved in a rape case. He soon become involved in solving a recent murder which reopens the case of four murdered or missing teenagers from twenty years ago.
I also finished another challenge which is always a good thing. I mooched some more books but didn't buy any. And it looks like I read a lot of mysteries this month.
Movies
Cassie and I went and saw The Duchess when I was in Salt Lake. It stars Kiera Knightley and Ralphe Fiennes. The acting and cinematography were excellent. I enjoyed it a lot.
TV
I'm still watching Dancing with the Stars. Cloris Leachman was finally voted off, but not before some better dancers left the show. I'm still enjoying this show. It's very entertaining. I'm not sure why I comment on what I watch on TV because it is just DWTS and Gray's Anatomy. Boring.
Overall Impression
I'm tired. I like traveling and always enjoy going out to Salt Lake to see my kids and grandson, but now I need to get things done around the house. But I'm just too tired. Guess I'll go to bed.

4th File 4th Picture Tag

Alyson tagged me for this post. You take the 4th picture in your 4th file and post it. How easy is that? I had to count out files that were copies of pictures taken by others; but this is what I ended up with.

I took this picture early on a Sunday morning in April 2006. It was a surprise snow storm. I liked the way the rising sun lit up that hill to the west. Later that afternoon I took another picture from about the same angle because everything looked so different.

September Sentinal

September is such a great month. Summer is almost over and there is a nip in the air. At least, there should be, but it's been pretty hot these days. But the nights are cooler. The leaves are starting to turn. I love fall. Here's what I did this month:

Sept 1 thru 8 - I was traveling!!!! YAY This is the week I went on a cruise to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Maine with Cassie and Julie. I did a post on the trip earlier so I won't say any more.

Sept 11 - Lincoln turned one today. I think it should be a national holiday. Because of Lincoln and the World Trade Center attacks. It will always be a memorable day for me. I remember exactly where I was when I first about the towers (sitting in my car before going to work, listening to the radio) and exactly where I was when I heard about Lincoln being born. (shopping in Walmart when Jordan called me on my cell phone.)

Sept 13 - I have not traveled enough this month so I drive back to Salt Lake for Lincoln's birthday party. Stacey had the best pizza for dinner and, of course, we had cake and ice cream. It was fun watching Lincoln with his cousins, Carter and Collin; and another friend, Seneca. Cassie and I represented Jordan's family and Stacey's parents, brother and sister-in-law; sister and friend; and Seneca's friends were all there. It was fun. I think Lincoln's favorite present was a big gift bag that he carried all over the house.

Well, that's about it. The rest of the month I spent reading and watching TV. It took me four weeks to finally get everything unpacked and the luggage put away.

Books Read

The Ride of Our Lives by Mike Leonard. A humorous memoir of a man taking his eighty-year old parents on a trip in an RV.

The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley. A classic novel that involves a bookshop, young love and Nazi saboteurs. It was a fun read.

At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie. This was an audio book. I love to listen to those English narrators reading her great mysteries.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Gaiman has a odd imagination. This book is geared toward younger readers. The illustrations and prose are creepy and great for the R.I.P Challenge.

Silas Marner by George Eliot. Another classic, I didn't care for this book about a recluse who becomes transformed after a little girl walks into his life.

Saffy's Angel by Hilary Mackay. A cute young adult book, it is the first in a series about a fun but dysfunctional family.

The Monster of Templeton by Lauren Groff. This is another audio book about a fictional version of Cooperstown, New York. It was pretty good, but not great.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. A lot of other blogers really loved this book but I was less impressed. Again good, but not great. I'm anxious to see how Cassie likes it.

The Santa Letters by Stacy Gooch-Anderson. Tristi Pinkston asked me to participate in a blog tour for this book and I jumped right in. I mean, I got a free Christmas book. The cover is beautiful. Stacy is LDS and the book is easily recognizable as Mormon to other Mormons, but the message is pretty non-denominational. It's a little sappy, but I like that in a Christmas book. I like the message and it made me laugh and cry.

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. Published in 1765, this book is considered the first of the gothic genre. I thought it was hilarious, it was so over the top and there were somany stereotypes.

Wow, that's ten books. I also finished five challenges although I have posted on all of them. I joined one that ends on Halloween, reading creepy, gothic and mysterious novels. I've read four but I want to read a couple more. I'm currently reading The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly.

Movies

I bought Penelope but haven't watched it yet. I did watch The Great Debaters on DVD. It is a fantastic movie.  I also watched a jackie Chan movie on the flight from DC to Phoenix but I can't remember what it is called.

TV

Dancing with the Stars started on the 22nd. My early favorite is Brooke Burke. Gray's Anatomy also started a new season on the 25th. I swear if Meredith starts second-guessing herself again, I'm going to scream.

Overall Impression

I've always liked September. It's the start of school, high school football games, (just memories, I don't go any more), leaves starting to change and beautiful days. Mmmmm, fall.

The First Birthday

Father & Son at Lincoln's birthday party

I can't believe that Lincoln is a year old. Where did the time go? And his father, Jordan, was born twenty-eight years ago. Yes, time really does fly. I love these two pictures with their bony baby butts. It is amazing how much my grandson looks like his dad did when he was brand new.

Here they are a year later. Obviously, they both like cake. Lincoln looked so much like Jordan when he was first born, but now he doesn't so much. His head is shaped differently. I wish I had some one-year-old pictures of Stacey to add to the comparison. Watching Lincoln at his birthday party, I saw some of his expressions that really reminded me of his dad, but he is definitely starting to look a lot like his mom also. It's pretty fascinating to see the wonder of a baby growing up and taking after each of his parents. I can't even imagine life without him and it's only been a year. A few high points this year is watching Lincoln learning to roll, crawl and now HE WALKS! He's a genius. I don't know if he still does it, but a few months ago, Lincoln trilled and rolled his tongue. He has the cutest expressions which just crack me up. Lincoln doesn't cry a lot but when he does, it's kind of scary. He has this deep growling cry. It's really more funny than scary. And he loves books, what more could I ask for?

The Norwegian Dream

What could be a better than a cruise in the Northeast, someone else making your beds and turning them down each night, towel animals on the bed, all the food you could possible eat (and more) lots of rain and fog, and the tail end of a hurricane? Actually, it was a great trip (thanks, Dramamine). We saw some beautiful things and missed others. Laughed a lot, ate a lot, spent a lot of money, spent a lot of time in airports. Yeah, it was great.

Here is a picture of our lovely ship taken from Bar Harbor (Baa Haa Baa). Bar Harbor was our last stop. This is where the cruise balled up. We had to go through immigration before taking a tender to shore. Everyone on board lined up to go through and it took forever. So half our excursion was cancelled, but we still took a bus to the top of Cadillac Mountain where you can see the entire island. At least you could if it wasn't engulfed in fog. Even so this was a fun stop. Bar Harbor is picturesque and the harbor was beautiful when the fog burned off. Julie even got sunburned a couple hours after this picture was taken. There were lots of shops and a village green, just too many people. But that was the case wherever we went . With the exception of Hailfax, these are smaller towns that just got inundated with 1700 people.

Since I've done this completely out of order, maybe I'll go back and do a day-by-day run down.

August 30 - Left Salt Lake at 3:00 after spending the morning with Lincoln. We flew to Phoenix and spent the next five hours in that airport. Next stop - Charlotte, NC. We reached Boston Sunday morning and boarded the ship. (Cassie looks like a movie star, doesn't she?) We were late for a barbecue on the top deck that evening and almost had to beg for food. They were pulling dishes right out from under our grasp. Not a good omen, but the food and service improved vastly as the cruise continued.

September 1 - Landed in St. John, New Brunswick. The best greeting ever. There must have been twenty people handing women from the ship roses and the men got pins. We took a bus ride around the town, stopped at an old market where we bought souvenirs, saw the reverse waterfall (where the Bay of Fundy at high tide meets the river). We rode the bus to St Martin while the guide talked and pointed things out. At St. Martin, Julie and I had really good sea food chowder. Cassie had chicken strips. We walked along the shore and headed back to the ship. I slept a lot during the thirty minute bus ride to St. Martin and back. A lone bag piper in a kilt serenaded the ship as it pulled away from the pier. That was pretty surreal.

September 2 - Our first sea day. I really noticed the motion of the waves here and eventually took medication. Julie did as well but she was also coming down with a nasty cold. Cassie did fine and but bemoaned the fact that the ice cream shack on the top deck was closed because of the rain. We played dice and read. Learned about buying jewelry. Very relaxing.

September 3 - Halifax. This was my favorite stop. We took a hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city which worked perfectly for me as we could stay longer at some stops but still have a guide pointing out sites as we rode the bus. We spent time in the Halifax Gardens (beautiful) and ate at a great Italian restaurant. Julie walked back to the ship as she was really unwell while Cassie and I continued on to the Citadel. This fort was built to guard the city from the French but wasn't finished until that threat was gone. Our guide, Corporal Steve, was a cute college kid, again in a kilt. I really enjoyed our time at the Citadel. The views were fantastic and we learned some great history about the city. Our next stop was at the Halifax Maritime Museum where we learned more about the Halifax Explosion. I was really interested in this piece of history after reading Barometer Rising, a novel which includes the tragedy.

September 4 - Coming into Sydney was beautiful, but it was a pretty ordinary town. We took a taxi ride to see the sites and saw a lot of churches and subdivisions. Odd. We did eat lunch at a great restaurant overlooking the bay and met a local walking his Westies. Cute dogs and he was fun to visit with.

September 5 - Another sea day with rain and fog. Julie was really sick this day and spent most of the day in our miniscule state room. I can't remember what Cassie and I did.

September 6 - I've already told you about Bar Harbor. I would love to see this place on a really sunny day.

September 7 - Debarked in Boston and found our way to the airport. This time we flew to DC, Phoenix, and finally Salt Lake. We were exhausted.

Dislikes: Constant motion on the ship. About two days back on land, I started feeling that motion again. Tiny room that was totally dark at night and hot. Not having enough time in the ports to really get a feel for the places, except for Halifax. The comedy show where guests told their supposedly g-rated jokes.

Likes: The food was fantastic. The Chocolate Buffet: tables loaded with different chocolate delicacies and chocolate sculptures. I loved the towel animals and the friendly crew (except those barbecue guys). Friendly townspeople. Great entertainment: The Jean Ryan Troupe of dancers and singers, a fantastic juggler, very funny comedian and so-so jazz singer. Denny, the cruise director, was an odd man but the act he and his team (The Fountains) performed at the crew talent show made us laugh so hard. Spending time with Cassie and Julie was the best.

Would I go on a cruise again? Sure, it is an inexpensive way to travel and the good outweighs the bad. I still prefer road trips because you have more options, but would love an Alaskan cruise, maybe the Mediterranean or even Scandinavia.

August Archives

This is the month that I spent a lot of money. I ordered a bunch of clothes online to wear on my trip. Most of those got returned. I bought cameras, TV, shoes, and just general stuff. You know, spending money is really fun. But here's a general report of noteworthy happenings.

1st - I attended the bank's Recognition Event in Provo. It was held at the Elk's Lodge and I stayed at the Marriott. I love sleeping in hotels; nice firm bed, lots of channels on the TV, alone time. The event itself was fun. I was late and didn't get to scope out the prizes which really didn't matter in the end. My name was called about halfway through and all the prizes I had been hoping for were gone. But I did select a very nice set of luggage: brown flowery brocade design. Just the thing for cruise. (Stay tuned to learn how it fared on the trip. Details in a future post)

2nd - I got up early which is hard when you're sleeping in a comfy hotel bed and it's Saturday morning, but I needed to get back to Vernal for the Petersen Family Reunion. I made it just in time to say goodby to Uncle Donald and Aunt Eleanor and Cousin Eldon. The rest of the morning and early afternoon were spent mostly playing dice and visiting. It was a nice day with a light breeze cooling things off occasionally. I have a great family and it was fun to spend time with them.

12th - Went visiting teaching. I know this shouldn't be that noteworthy, but it is the first time in eight months that my partner went with me. She is the same age as my daughter but really fun; and we had a good time. She's a busy girl so I'm glad we were able to finally go out together.

13th - Saw the movie "Mama Mia" with my high school friends. If you went to high school in the 70's, I recommend going to this movie with similar age friends. Some of the references were hilarious and the music was great. Except when Pierce Brosnan sang and then it was just hilarious. I was telling someone about it today (a month later) and starting cracking up again. Very entertaining.

30th-31st - Drove to Salt Lake Friday night and stayed at Jordan's. That meant I got to play with Lincoln Saturday morning. We went to a store and Jordan parked in the back seat with the baby. I made mooing noises for him which he loved. He's so cute. I left the car with Jordan and Stacey so they had two cars while I was gone. That afternoon at 3 pm MST, Julie, Cassie and I boarded our plane en route to Boston via Phoenix, AZ and Charlotte, NC. We arrived in Boston at 9 am EST. What a long day and night. Our layover in Phoenix was five hours long!! We took a very expensive taxi ride to the boat and boarded. You'll have to wait for my post about the trip to learn more.

Books - I read or listened to eight books this month:

Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett (audio) - Very funny

The Changeling by Zilpha Keating Snyder - A great young adult book

Niagra: A History of the Falls by Pierre Berton - Non-fiction, read for Canadian challenge. Very informative and interesting.

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer - The last of the Twilight series. The kind of book you can't put down but not my favorite in the series.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - Dare I criticize the great one? I'll just say this was one of my least favorite Austen books.

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E L Konigburg - Another great young adult book.

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - probably my least favorite read this month.

Barometer Rising by Hugh MacLennan - Read for the Canadian Challenge and in preparation for my trip to Halifax. It was slow going at first, but the description of the Halifax Explosion was spellbinding.

I joined one challenge, R.I.P Challenge 2008, which is always a good one for the fall. I also finished the Decades, TBR, Heard It Through the Grapevine and the Chunkster Challenges. So I have six challenges to finish before December 31 and one to finish by October 31. That's about sixteen books because I do a lot of cross-challenging, so I think I'm good. Especially since I'm almost finished with one that works for two challenges. I feel like I'm pulling a fast one.

Movies - Mama Mia (see above)

TV - It was all about the Olympics. Why is it that you couldn't pay me to watch rowing but put it on the Olympics and I'm standing and cheering on the Americans? If they're not in the race, I'll find someone else to cheer for. Swimming is still my favorite to watch and what nail biters a couple of those races were. Michael Phelps was so impressive. Less impressive was the joint interview they did with Phelps and Mark Spitz. Wasn't there some obsure sport like badminton that we could have been watching? I like watching gymnastics but got a little frustrated with some of the scoring. I did have a hard time with table tennis because the ball moved so fast I couldn't keep up with it. I admit I didn't watch any wrestling, but was glued to the volleyball matches. Whatever, it was fun.

Overall Impression - It seems like the entire month was a count down to The Trip. And the Olympics, of course.

New Acquisitions

As many of you know, I'm getting ready to go on a cruise in New England in September. I didn't want to take my old Minolta camera since its picture quality has really declined. A small pocket camera would be nice to not weigh me down, but which one?? The bank had a recognition event in which they gave away 100 prizes which included two small Kodaks and two small Samsungs and a Nikon D40 (not a pocket camera at all). Well, I didn't win any of those; I got a great set of luggage which was perfect. One of my tellers won the Nikon and brought it to work to show off. I could see it was way too big and complicated for me, but what should I get. I spent every evening the next week researching cameras. I looked at Sonys, Olympuses. Nikons, Casios, and Canons. I read the reviews and the product specifications and the sizes. I wanted to use the same batteries I already owned (rechargeable AA) and the SD memory cards. Then I read that I should actually hold the cameras in my hand to see how each one felt. Well, I live in a small town, but I drove up to Inkleys and tried out their small selection; and almost bought a Canon A580. A nice small camera which also had a view finder. Sony and Canon were the only ones who have that. I also found I didn't want a really big camera. More research showed the Canon has a really slow shutter speed. That nixed it for me because it is one of the problems I have with my Minolta. Actually, I was pretty tired of doing research so this is what I ended up with.

Panasonic Lumix LZ10

A 10.1 megapixel with a 5x optical zoom. It's small but has a nice little grip on the right side so it won't slide out of my hands like the other pocket cameras felt like they would do. It takes an SD card and AA batteries and has a fast shutter speed. But I didn't stop there, oh no . . .I bought a

Panasonic Lumix FZ18

What can I say? I'm a sucker for zoom and this one has an 18x zoom, plus 8.1 megapixels. And it is the same size as my Minolta which is manageable for me. It does take different batteries, so I bought two plus a recharger only to discover that the camera came with a battery and recharger. I now have three batteries and two rechargers. Rats, it never did tell me what came in the package. I'm a little intimidated by both these cameras because they are more complicated than my trusty Minolta so I will be studying the next couple of weeks. But they both have really good reviews and seemed to fit my needs.

Last month I bought an indoor antenna to see if I could get better reception than my old outdated one. Unfortunately, it did nothing for my TV, great reception for KJAZZ and nothing else. So I hooked the old antenna back up and it no longer works. In a fit of rage, I went to Walmart and picked up a 15-inch flat screen and hooked it to the new antenna. The reception of NBC, ABC and CBS is not great but I can at least watch it. And now I get FOX. So it is sitting on the dining room table and I watch TV while I work on the internet. I'm tired of researching so I'm putting off a decision on whether to get satellite or something else. I hear I can get a digital antenna that will be able to pick up the new signals next February and maybe I won't have to pay for TV. I need expert advice.

Well, I have certainly spent a lot of money this month and it's been fun. Stressful but fun. I hope I can figure out how to use these cameras and what to do about TV.

July Jingles

What can I say about July. It was hot, hot, hot. We got seven drops of rain and it is crazy dry. Cassie, Jordan, Stacey and Lincoln all came to visit for the Fourth. We had a lot of fun watching Lincoln crawling. He made the craziest face when the pink signal showed up on the TV after a DVD finished. Yes, he is certainly the most amusing human being on the face of the plant. I found that he does not like to be in the grass. But he could only hold one leg up and he never put in down. So cute. On the night of the Fourth, we went to Cheya and Myke's annual picnic. Good food as always and lots of people. Cheya had people posing with her crocheted hats that she is selling online. Finally we took Lincoln up to the park to see the fireworks. It's fun to watch there because you are so close to them. Lincoln was fascinated with the lights and noise. Until he got sleepy, of course. It was fun watching him. It was also fun watching his parents ooh and aah to him. It's hard to believe my son is a father, but he and Stacey are great parents.

The only other highlight this month was going to Salt Lake to babysit Lincoln on the 18th. He is crawling even faster, standing up and making all kinds of funny faces and noises. I was totally worn out but it was so worth it. I've noticed a trend in my monthly reportings. They seem to revolve around the baby. It is his first year, maybe he won't so cute next year. Yeah, right.

The rest of the month seemed to revolve around work, church and going to the temple. Of course, I read, blog, and watch TV.

Books

I read or listened to eight books and joined one more challenge. I mooched five more books and bought ten from Amazon. My favorite was The Valley of Light by Terry Kay. One of my mooched books was written by him. I am currently reading Niagra by Pierre Berton. It's a chunkster that I am reading for the Canadian Challenge, plus it is non-fiction. Very interesting, but long.

Movies

I bought five DVDs of which I watched one: "Definitely, Maybe." It was cute.

TV

The Batchelorette is over, She chose Jesse with the long hair. I liked him except for his hair. I'm still watching Nashville Stars and America's Got Talent, but that's about it. I did buy a new fifteen-inch flat screen TV and an indoor antenna. Unfortunately, when I attached the new atenna to my big TV, it would only picky up KJAZZ. So I reattached my old antenna but now I can only get ABC. I'm afraid it's time to get Direct TV or satellite or cable. Any suggestion? Rats, I hate to pay for TV.

Overall Impression

It's hot. The grass is burning up, my tree still needs to be trimmed, my home teacher came and cut down the weeds (that man deserves every blessing he gets) and we're still hitting our goals at work.

June Jazz

Absolutely nothing happened in June. Well, that's not quite true. Cassie came and visited me on the 21st & 22nd. Or was it the week before?? Whatever. It's always wonderful to have her home even for a short time. She turned 26 on the 23rd. How did my baby girl get to be 26?? I'm only 24. I gave my first lesson in Relief Society on the 22nd since being recalled as a teacher. It felt good to be doing that again. And my branch met its goals for the quarter!!! In fact, I get to go to the recognition event in Provo on August 1 along with four of my staff. They are giving away lots of prizes (flat-screen TV, cameras, IPods, laptop, etc). Some prizes are lame so I hope I win something cool.

Reading
Finished three challenges and joined one. I might be catching up. I love the way challenges stretch me by making me read books I might never even look at. Sometimes that is good and sometimes not so good.
Books Read
Murder on a Girl's Night Out, rated 3.75 mystery
Too Soon to Say Goodbye, rated 3 memoir
The Fireman's Fair, rated 4.25 fiction
Law of Attraction, rated 2.5 non-fiction
Consequences, rated 3 fiction on CD
The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio, rated 4.5 non-fiction
The Fatal Shore, rated 3.5 non-fiction
Far World - I haven't written my review or rated this one but it was really good. I'm writing a review for a blog tour for the author. fantasy
It was a pretty lackluster month for reading, especially since The Fatal Shore took me two weeks to read. It's huge and has small print and is about the penal colonies that first settled Australia. I mooched ten books but gave away thirteen so I should be getting ahead except I bought four used books from Amazon. YIKES!! But The Fatal Shore was one I mooched away and that should count as three books. :)
Movies
Prince Caspian - This is the movie Cassie and I went to at the theater. I liked it better than the first Narnia movie. The prince is very nice looking.
27 Dresses - DVD
The Importance of Being Earnest - DVD
I joined the Disney Club and got some great DVDs. Most are classics (Summer Magic, etc) I love to watch but there were a couple of new ones.
TV
What can I say? I am a reality TV junky. This month I have really gotten into watching The Bachelorette. I like her, she's pretty straight forward and honest. I also like Nashville Nights (I think that's the name) except it's on about the same time as The Bachelorette. On Tuesdays I watch America's Got Talent. And then I catch the reruns of Home Improvement on Sunday.
Overall Impression
I seem to be watching a lot of TV this month, but managed to keep the lawn mowed. That's about all I do outside. The weeds are growing rampant and my cottonwood tree is getting scary. The branches are so long I'm afraid they will break. It looks really bad. It's been hot in the day; but, with one or two exceptions, sleepingly cool at night. I'm enjoying working at the temple one night a week and have had a few choice experiences there.