Happy Mothers Day/Birthday

Dan had to go to Pontiac to speak yesterday so I went to church alone in the pouring rain. It rained most of the day. The young men passed out a cocks comb plant to all the sisters over 20. I took one to Sister Pedrick. She didn't want to get out in the rain with her walker. I got home and heated up some soup I had in the freezer. Marisa and Neil came over for dinner. Dan cooked steaks on the grill (it was so windy most of the coals just got blown out) and I made homemade corn tortillas, salsa verde and rice. Marisa forgot to get a cake. Marisa and Neil gave me a 4 bottle set of lotions and bath stuff from Bed Bath and Beyond that also had a very nice purse with it. I also got a used VCR that Neil hooked up for me. Now I can tape my novela before I go to bed and Dan can't complain that he can't watch tv. I can't believe I am 58 years old. I feel 21. Dan and I bought fishing licenses last Monday. Maybe we will go fishing when he gets home. I don't picture Dan making me a cake for my birthday. It's only the two of us since Marisa and Neil left for Cancun this morning for their belated honeymoon. I am watching Bailey this week.

Loopy Again

I thought things were going well with my surgery until I started breaking out in hives on Saturday. The are around the incision site was all red and blistered. Dan looked at it and said I was covered in hives. My benadryl was expired so Dan ran out and got me some more. I also started applying hydrocortizone to the site. I called the doctor this morning and he said to continue with that. He said I must have an allergy to the adhesive bandage. How uncomfortable. I was supposed to teach today. Karen Shurtleff said she would take care of it. I hope I can sleep tonight without the aid of the benadryl.

Good news

I went to outpatient surgery today and had my basal cell carcinoma removed. My British Doctor played Allison Krause and sang and whistled while he cut my body. Pathology checked it out and said the Dr. cut out all of the cancer. I am still feeling no pain so I am happy. I might take a Vicodin before bed. The dressing covering the sight has blood under it. I hope it stays under the dressing or I am going to have a hard time wearing clothes.

When I got home I found a vase of flowers from Amanda and another vase of flowers from the rest of the kids. Neil had the task of going out and buying them. I have wonderful children.

Aunt Chuck has to have a breast biopsy next month. We are praying all goes well with her.

My new favorite book

I had to bottle some chicken because I didn't have room in my freezer. So while I was waiting for the chicken to pressure, I started reading a book called "The Kite Runner". It has to be one of the best books I have ever read. The author Khaled Hosseini has written some others which I will definitely be looking for.

I finished bottling 10 pints of chicken. I just need to wash my kitchen floor tonight and then I will go to bed. I am tired.

Poor Mackenzie has shingles Amanda said. She text ed me a picture of one on her chest. She said it was the size of a baseball and she wasn't kidding.

Just got home

It was our Temple weekend. We left Friday morning and worked the pm Friday shift in the temple. We got up (well I did) at 5am and made it out of the apartment by 6:15. I called the shift coordinator and let her know we needed to leave early on Saturday. Dan has meetings for Stake Conference and so we had a very easy schedule. We saw a training film at 7:15 and then I was done by 7:30. Sister Reid asked me to go to the Celestial Room until 8:00. Sister Goowin came and visited with me. I did Sealings at 8 until 8:45. Dan and I were Second Followers for the 9am session. We had about 25 patrons. We then worked the veil and we were done.

We were driving out of Nauvoo by 11:00. We stopped for lunch and then I dropped Dan off at the Stake Center at 2pm. I have to pick Pat Webb up for the Adult meeting . That starts at 6pm so I need to finish getting ready for the meeting. I unpacked the van and put everything away.

A very wet Thursday

I went to the Dr. for my follow-up appt. My labs came back just fine. But the lesion he removed was basal cell carcinoma. They made me an appt. to see a Plastic Surgeon to remove it. I have an appt. for next Friday. It will probably be a consult and then I will have to return again for the procedure. It is the kind of cancer that does not metastasize. I am glad about that. My Dr. was also pleased with my blood pressure and weight loss and had me make an appt. to come back in 3 months. He said if I continue with my progress he will probably take me off my meds. Yeah!!! He really could sense I didn't like being on meds. I love this Dr. He really listens.

It has been raining cats and dogs today. It was raining side ways. I got soaked. The sky is dark and the next county over from us is under a tornado watch. Welcome to spring in Illinois. Amanda loves this weather.

Sister Forest is picking me up for our book club tonight. We are having the meeting at Barb Johnson's house. The story was about a young German woman growing up during WW II. I have read lots about the Holocaust but not about what the innocent German people endured. She eventually joined the Church and lives in Utah I believe.

We leave for Nauvoo in the morning. We need to leave early on Saturday because Dan has organized a quartet to sing in Priesthood Meeting on Saturday afternoon. I will drop him off and then go pick up Pat Webb for the adult meeting at 6pm. We are getting a general authority for our Stake Conference.

I just found out today that our carpeting was not coming because they are having a shortage of yarn. I had our salesperson pick out something similar that was available. We should have it laid in another two weeks I hope and pray.

Inferno Red

We purchased a 2008 Inferno Red Grand Caravan last night. I got to drive it today because I took it back to be detailed. The only thing we wanted in the van was electric seat for Dan and stow and go for me. Dan will drive it to work. I don't care. I will have the Stratus everyday. Now I can't use the excuse of not leaving the house because I don't have heat in my car. Darn. I love staying home. I could stay at home and be very happy I think.

I went to ESL class and had three students in my group. We practiced dictation. I would say a sentence in English and they would write down what they hear. We then translated it into Spanish and I had them changing the words in the sentences. I really encouraged them to use other pronouns. They did really well overall. They just need to start speaking. They understand quite a bit. One of the students has been here seven years. The others a little less. I truly love teaching these people. They are so grateful.

I wish it would quit raining. Of course the longer it rains prevents me from working outside. Que lastima. I am still waiting on the call from the carpet people. It will be so nice to get the house in order.

Conference Sunday

I really enjoyed conference today. All of the speakers were great. President Monson's closing address was exceptional. He is going to be a very beloved prophet. It must be hard to step into someonelse's shoes. All prophets have their own style and we love them no matter what. We could see a lot of changes in the first presidency in the next ten years looking at the ages of some of the brethren. Although President Hinckley took us for a ride didn't he?

Marisa came by for a brief moment and left Bailey with me so she could go to lunch with Lacey. She is missing out on so much. I don't even think she realized it was General Conference weekend. I am so grateful for my membership in the true church. I often think of where I would be without the church. Everyone comes to a fork in the road in their lives. You only can go one way or the other. I know I took the right turn. It must be lonely out there not having the truth in your life. I am thankful for the faithful brethren who direct this church.

When we were in Utah last week I purchased a CD of music honoring the prophet Joseph. It is wonderful. What a job he had. Why do people dislike him so?

Car Shopping

Dan decided that the 1994 van needs to be replaced. We went out Friday looking for a replacement. We first looked at Nissan. Too small. We then spent the rest of the evening at Chrysler where I had made an appt. Dan fit in the PT Cruiser pretty good. We both liked the 2008 Grand Voyager. They have one with 18 miles that they are calling used. It has the stow n go which I love. It has airbags on all the sides besides the front which I like also.

Dan still wanted to look around and then he spotted a 2003 Mercedes Benz E 500. It looked like it had been well taken care of. It had 91, 000 miles. They wanted $19,000. which I thought was alot. He really likes the vehicle.

I told him I thought the mini van is better especially when we have grandchildren visit we can transport them. Even picking up people for church the van would make more sense.

General Conference was very good. They called a new apostle. Elder Christofferson (sp). Many of the brethren spoke about the family. Dan just left for Priesthood Meeting.

Death in the family

Our 1994 Dodge Minivan is near death. Her brakes and front end are going out. We bought her used in 2000 and she has served us well. Dan and I are looking at Dodge Magnums. I am still partial to a minivan. We will look again tomorrow. It is a pain in the neck sharing a vehicle. Dan has so many meetings.

Neil is going to give me a ride to my TOPS meeting tomorrow morning. I am being installed as the new secretary so I need to be there.

I had a lesion on my back biopsied today. I will get the results next Thursday.

We're back

We left last Thursday for Spencer's wedding. We left early Thursday morning and even had time to stop for breakfast on the way. The flight was uneventful and I even enjoyed the flight. Frontier was very comfortable. We all arrived pretty much the same time. It was so good to see all of my grandchildren and children of course. Tyler is growing like a weed. He is very clever and we enjoyed several games of Boggle. We even danced together at the wedding. Mackenzie is so pretty and looks so much like her mother. She is all girl and looked so pretty in pink at the wedding. Brett is well Brett. Brett is fearless and does things his way. He is very amusing to watch. Parker is very sweet. Hard to believe he will start school in the fall. He speaks his mind. Kaden is a mini version of Danny Lee. He never stops talking. He is very laid back and seems to go with the flow. Brinlee is a little princess. She is very cute a mini Sarah. She doesn't let her brothers take advantage of her. She lets herself be heard when they tease her. Those three reminded me of Spencer, Danny and Amanda at that age. Those boys loved to tease Amanda and she could hold her own.

We all stayed at the same hotel so we would eat together when possible. We also got to swim together when the pool wasn't full of others. Sunday was great because we go the pool to ourselves.

Dan and I drove down to Salt Lake City on Sunday morning. We got to go to the taping of the Spoken Word. That was so fun. We then went to Sacrament Meeting at the SL 19th ward. We met Danny and Sarah and the children for lunch and we went to the Church's History Museum. It was so cool. They took off for Washington and go home safely the next morning at 6:30 Salt Lake time. They had quite a bit of snow crossing Snoquamie Pass but other than that their trip was good.

We took off Monday morning and found ice all over the place. Our trip to SLC was slow. We saw people spinning out all over the place. We returned the Dodge Magnum (loved it by the way) and caught our flight to Denver. We had a little layover in Denver so we ate lunch. Neil got a text from Nick Letty who was sidetracked to Minneapolis from SLC. They were headed for Chicago but got stuck there because of fog. They kept canceling their flight to Chicago so Nick and Liz rented a car and drove to O'Hare to pick up their car. I hope they made it ok. The news said that Minneapolis got hit with 8 inches of snow.

Amanda said that I-80 was closed at Rock Springs so she and the children followed Daniel there and were going to spend the night. The roads were closed going to Riverton so hopefully they will get home today if the roads are open.

Marisa and Neil were with us so they picked their car up here and went to pick up their dog at Tom and Jane's.

I haven't heard from Spencer but he is on his honeymoon after all.

The wedding was beautiful. They had the ceremony at a greenhouse. The setting was gorgeous. The dinner was at a LDS chapel and then back to the greenhouse for the reception. Alena looked beautiful and Spencer looked handsome. They had a wedding cake and then the groom's cake was a Chicago Cub Cake. Spencer put on a Cub jersey and hat to cut the cake. Very funny.

Alena's parents were very nice. Dan seemed to get along very well with Alena's dad. There are many siblings and aunts and uncles and cousins who came to the wedding. Alena's uncle who is a Bishop (was being released the next day) performed the ceremony and did a lovely job. He said all the right things. Now we can all hope for a temple marriage in the future. It is up to them however.

I have lots of work to do today. I would like to take a walk on the trail today.

waxed and plucked

Last night after ESL class I went to Marisa's and she waxed me and plucked me good. She even asked Neil if he wanted to pull the tape and make his mother in laws eyes water. He said no, he had been through it and knew what it felt like. lol.

We had a baby shower for Laura from ESL last night. She brought her new baby and we had a great time. She loved the baby quilt I made her. The fabric was called When I Grow Up. Very cute.

I am starting to pack this morning and starting to do some laundry. Hope all goes well for the trip and that the wedding is beautiful. Will write more when I get back.

Windy Tuesday

The winds have really picked up. I hate driving when your car is pushed to and fro. If we can get through March then beautiful spring is just around the corner.

We spent a nice evening with Marisa and Neil and his parents celebrating Marisa's birthday last night. Marisa made a delicious crockpot meal and home made mashed potatoes. I made the rolls and a chocolate whipped cream cake. It wasn't much to look at but it tasted pretty darn good. I was in the bathroom three times before I made it to bed and then started again this morning. Chocolate and I have this thing.

Just two more days before I see my 6 grand children. It will be nice to see my children too. It is why we are making the trip after all. Spencer called last night and it looks like the rehearsal dinner will be at his new home. We will be having a barbecue and I am in charge of the clean up.

Sprinter Sunday

Ok, I wake up and it is snowing outside. It didn't stick but it is only about 30 degrees. It is snowing again and this time the flakes are HUGE. So is it spring or winter? I got up early and made french dip sandwiches for lunch. I sauted some onions and put them in the crock pot with a beef roast and added a mixture of water, soy sauce, garlic and onion soup mix. It was very yummy. I served it on whole wheat hoagies. I also put some potatoes in the oven with cajun seasoning. I made a weight watcher fluff ( pineapple, mandarin oranges, fruit cocktail mixed with sf raspberry jello and sf vanilla pudding, and cool whip free).

Marisa and Neil come over for lime meringue pie I made. Neil was too full from his dinner at his grandma's but Marisa ate a pie. Bailey had spent the night so they took her home.

I bought a sweater in very pastel lime green. I bought it to go with another dress but I remembered I had a black skirt with small flowers that had lavender and this color green. It matched beautifully.

I taught the RS lesson today. It was the talk by Elder Ballard about Facts, Families, Fruits. I showed a 10 minute video about church history. It went well with my lesson. I also told the parable about the debtor and the creditor that Elder Packer told some years ago. I wanted to incorporate the Atonement into my lesson also. I think I achieved that. It has been a lovely day.

Good Friday

Dan had the day off. He cleaned out the raspberry patch. A lot of old growth cleaned out. We should have a good crop this year. I cleaned out the garage while he was working on the berries. I had called someone to pick up some junk from the garage. They showed up about 2pm. We still need someone to haul the family room sofa away. I don't have a replacement so maybe I should wait.

I am still working on Spencer's quilt. Don't know if I am going to be able to finish it on time. It is more time consuming than I had imagined.

Marisa and Neil are coming by for dessert on Sunday afternoon. They are going to Grandma Hagan's for lunch. I just made their Easter baskets. I also got the ingredients for her birthday cake for Monday. Marisa is going to make dinner and I am bringing the cake. I am going to make it at her house on Monday so I don't have to move the cake. It is a chocolate layer cake with a whipped cream filling and fresh strawberries. The picture looks pretty. It takes 13 oz. of bittersweet chocolate.

I made the reservation for the rental car tonight for the trip to Utah. I hope the weather will be good there. I think I will check on line .

October Road

I have been behind in viewing October Road. Last week I watched a couple of the episodes and really got into it. Tonight I watched the episode where their childhood friend Angela dies. It was so sad. I love all of the characters. I don't have a favorite. I like them all for different reasons. I will watch the 2 hour season finale tomorrow or sometime during the week.

Monday Monday

I am so behind on my blogging. We went to the temple this weekend so I had no access to a computer and did not have the energy to write anyway. We were busy both days and we had to stay at the hotel. I didn't call ahead to reserve an apartment so we had to stay at Nauvoo Family Inn. I am not used to a double bed and the people next door were noisy and the hairdryer in the room didn't work and they didn't have a replacement. I did make reservations for April for the apartment but don't know how many vacancies they will have this summer. 40 couple missionaries are coming in April so we shall see.

Dan and I went to Monmouth to speak. Dan thought it started at 10 and then when we were walking up to the building Dan says there sure are alot of cars outside. We get into the building and there is the Stake President speaking at the pulpit. It turns out the meeting started at 9am. While we thought we had arrived a half hour early we were in essence a half hour late. And then to top it off, I wasn't even listed on the bulletin to speak. We sat in the back row and then when the Stake President finished speaking they asked Dan to come up and speak.

At least we got out in essence an hour early. We left there a little after 12 to come home and got home before 2. It is an hour and a half drive easy.

Pat and I are going visiting teaching today. She is going out of town this week so we thought we had better get out. We usually get out much earlier.

I will also go shopping at IGA. I had gone to their website last week to check it out. They said they are giving away a $50. certificate if you sign up and they pick your name. Well when I checked my email when we got back this weekend it said I had won!

Sarah called yesterday and we might be flying from our homes to Disney World (Orlando) and spending a few days there and then getting a shuttle to the ship. It sounds like a plan to me.

Treadmill Tuesday

ok, I'm a little behind. I journaled Sunday in my actual journal. Monday I was very busy. I had made an appointment to see Dan's Dr. I am not good about going to Drs. I go to my gyne and dentist but I feel good so why should I rock the boat?

Well, when I got in there they checked my blood pressure and it was 130/100. They checked it before I left and then decided I needed an EKG. The Dr. said it was abnormal so I got a CXR and then went on Tuesday for an Echo Treadmill test. I was nervous but did just fine. The cardiologist told me up front that it was normal. The Dr.'s office called today with the same news. I do have to take a pill every day and will do so until I see if my pressure will go down if I change my life style. When the weather starts to get better I can get out and exercise.

I feel good and am grateful for the wonders of medicine. I hate to have other people in control of me and that's how I feel taking medication is. On the other hand I am the one in control by deciding how I will treat my body.

I got my TD booster today. I was only 4 years late. I was also asked to volunteer at the Woodford County Health Dept. I will do the intake when people come in for immunizations. I will work from 7:30-11:30 maybe once a month to start.

Sick as a dog Saturday

We went out last night and had dinner at the OK Corral. I had some baked salmon and a beef fillet. I used some fat free ranch on my baked potato. I don't know if the salmon (tasted very fishy) or the dressing was bad. The dressing tasted very sweet. Anyway during the night I must have been in the bathroom 15 times with diarrhea. Since I weigh on Fridays I know what my weight is. I weighed 3 lbs. lighter Saturday.

I slept in until 8 ish which is unheard of. I got up and showered and then ran to the store for the things we needed for painting. Marisa and Neil and Dan and I painted our master bedroom. Two of the walls are a darker taupe almost chocolate ice cream color. The other walls are a lighter taupe. It turned out great. We still need to finish a little bit of the trim way up high on one of the walls. Marisa and Neil said they would be back another day to finish it up. I am going to paint all the baseboards.

We bought Dan a Cherry Rolled top desk last night. It is beautiful. We won't have it delivered until after the carpet is laid. We will look for living room furniture later. He really needs that desk.

Frigid Friday

The television says it's 22 degrees outside. I might go out today if the sun comes out. Marisa, Neil and I went to Lowe's last night. Dan had High Council. We bought paint for the bedroom and entry way. Lowe's called yesterday and said the carpet guy who measured last Saturday can't do the job so we probably have to have the house remeasured. I showed Marisa the carpet we are interested in. I might run out today and look for a roll top desk for Dan.

We are going to move my quilting machine downstairs and then keep my sewing machine and quilting materials upstairs in the sun, the moon and the stars room. Dan will share half the room and put his computer there.

I will be glad to have the work done and the house back in order. We are living out of boxes.

Trash Day

I finally got the rest of the trash out of the garage. Last week was unreal with the old mattress and box springs. I even put some trash sacks with my neighbors. I'm sure the trash man was uttering some things when he drove up to my home. I had been cleaning out closets and clearing off book cases so the trash really piled up. I got a good nights rest in my new bed last night. My back seems to be feeling better.

Talked to Sarah last night. I can't wait to see all of my grandchildren (6) at Spencer's wedding. Marisa told me yesterday that in 22 days we would all be together.

I had picked up a free book from the library some time back called Seventrees. I pick it up and read from it from time to time. It is about a young woman who is an orphan it seems and is being raised my her uncle and aunt. She is more of a servant. She attempts to call her Aunt "mother" like her cousin Luther does but the Aunt says you can't do that. Luther is my son you are not my daughter. When Maggie is twelve her family sends for her. It turns out her parents were Amish and so Maggie goes to live with her grandmother (father's mother) and uncles and aunts. Her grandmother was a medicine woman, meaning she knew a lot about plants and their medicinal values. She teaches Maggie those things. Maggie leaves the Amish lifestyle when she is of age (never embracing it's teachings) because one of the young men wants to marry her. She goes back to her uncle and aunt and nurses the aunt until she dies. She marries Gerald who is a dreamer who wants to go to Mexico to get rich. They end up in the Kansas City area. Maggie is very industrious and starts a business while her husband goes west to follow his dream for a year. Maggie befriends Black Feather an Indian who is their tribes medicine man and who teaches Maggie about herbs and medicines. They were talking about death one night and I thought this quote was good. "As this day moves into past, the sorrow will become fainter, though it will always echo in your heart. As we grow older, there are many voices crying out from our pasts. But ever more softly."

Wednesday Morning

Got Dan off to work early today. He had a 7am meeting so the alarm went off at 5ish. We read in the OT and then I made him some oatmeal. He left by 6:30 I think. I just saw a commercial on tv about a bank and a maze. And guess what was in the maze? You guessed it a mouse. I hate mice. I cannot watch tv that have them or read about them. The tv show Monk has a huge rat in the beginning of the show that drops down on Monk. I avoid the beginning of the show. Now when I hear that Cefcu has a commercial I am going to have to tune it out.

I just got an email from Traci Weibling my sister in law. Her mom is very ill in the hospital in Kansas City. Traci has been going there daily. I hope they find out what is going on.

Just one more day

Not too much going on here. I made Chicken Paprikash in the crock pot for dinner. It was very tasty. I went to English class. I only had two students. We play boggle for awhile and then studied homonyms. It is so much fun teaching english. It is my fourth year. I will miss next week due to Enrichment Meeting but I have someone to teach for me.

Longer Legs

My beautiful bedroom set was delivered today. I put the new bedding on and can't believe how beautiful the room looks. Marisa came over and she will help us decide on the color of paint and how to decorate the room. She has some good ideas. The only problem with the bed is that it is soooooo tall. I literally have to either stand on a foot stool or go face first and crawl on my tummy to get on. I think I'm done growing so that option is out. I will take some pictures and try and post them. We will probably pick the carpeting this Wednesday. Dan wants to get a roll top desk for his computer. We were thinking of putting it in the little adjacent room in our bedroom but have decided to share my quilting room. We have to dismantle my quilting frame and move it downstairs so I told Dan he could have half the room for his computer and I will use the other half for my sewing. I will just go downstairs and quilt and do my piecing and sewing upstairs.

A Beautiful Sunday

Went to church today with Pat Webb. Dan went to Kewanee again to finish an audit. The weather must be 60 degrees outside. I hope it stays but I know it won't. I put some chili in the crockpot before I left for church. I cooked the beans all night in the crock pot. I also made some SF Cheesecake pudding. I added some fresh strawberries under the pudding. Yum. Sams had them this week so I bought a box of them. They sure are good.

I downloaded a book from the library called Finding Noel. It is written by Richard Paul Evans. The book came on CD's so I downloaded them to my iPod. Yeah!!! I might take a walk today and listen to it.

School Daze

I went to ICC for a class on ipods for Adults. The instructor was very informed. She had given the class several weeks ago but her computer with the presentation on it didn't work very well. She offered the class again and so I went. She was very nice and I learned a few things. Alot of this is just trying things. She passed around some books. One book I will definitely order. It is called i-pod, the missing manual. It looked very good and even had colored pictures. I need all the help I can get.

I found a bedding set today at Macy's. It had been marked $350. They had marked it down to $129.99 and then marked it down 30% more. So with tax and all I got it for $98. It has the comforter, bed skirt, shams of all kinds, sheets, pillowcases, and even curtains for both windows with valances. I think I did ok. The comforter is gold with green leaves. The curtains are green with valances that match the comforter. It is even machine washable. Many of the sets I looked at were dry clean only.

Oliver Twist

Last night we had our Morton Ward Book Club Meeting. We met at Sister Hickok's home in Eureka. We discussed Oliver Twist. I did not finish the book. Very depressing if you ask me. Orphans really do have it better today. We got Spencer's wedding announcement today in the mail. I told him he could have worn better jeans than what was in the photos. He said those were $100. jeans. I told him he got ripped off. lol.

We did our monthly shopping at Sams tonight. Stocked up with lots of fish and fruit.

I am going to take an ipod class tomorrow at ICC. Wish me luck.

College Cheese

That's what Dan calls cottage cheese. Tuesday night I started to make cottage cheese for the very first time. I finished it up this morning and I have to agree it came out pretty good. I am now cooking down the whey (liquid part) to make some kind of spreadable cheese. It was easier than I thought. Just another way to use your powdered milk. I just ate some with some fruit and it tasted pretty good. I would probably cook it less next time. I will save some out for Dan to try and then use a cup of it to make sour cream.

Two's Company, Three's a Crowd

Last night was our first night in the spare bedroom until the new furniture is delivered Monday. I didn't realize how much smaller a double bed us compared to a Queen. Amanda must have a King size You can get lost in her bed. But anyway, the cat decided to sleep on my feet all night so I just felt so crowded. Also the room was very hot. It's an inside room and I could hardly breathe. The ceiling fan has never been installed so it would have been so much better. In our master bedroom if I get too warm I just jump up and flip the ceiling fan switch.

Spoke with Amanda last night. Tyler, Mackenzie and Brett were having the time of their lives. I asked what all the noise was and she said they were just being kids. She really enjoys her children. She talked about driving out over spring break but it's a week before Spencer's wedding so that would probably not be feasible. Haven't heard from Spencer lately. I imagine he is busy with work and with the wedding.

I tried to fill in some pre-boarding info for the cruise last night. But the website came up with some errors. I saved what I had done and will attempt to complete it.

I will work on my quilting room today. My good neighbors next door brought me a whole bunch of boxes from their move so I should have enough to do the bookcase with church books.

Pugle Wednesday

I offered to watch Bailey Marisa's dog. I enjoy her company and thought it would be a great day. Well, I had to run into Peoria to pick up Dan's glasses. When I got back I noticed a sack of chocolate chip chunks spread all over the family room floor. I had shopped yesterday and had several sacks still on the kitchen floor with taco shells and other dry goods. I forgot I had purchased a sack of chips. I quickly put her outside. I then swept up the chips and weighed all the chips. I am figuring she didn't like the semi-sweet chips because a very small amount was missing. It could have been disastrous . I am going to have to be more careful in the future. Neil came over and helped Dan carry our old mattress and box springs to the curb for the trash pickup tomorrow. We also got rid of our old dressers. Dan took a hammer to them and they are lying on top of the mattress. What a sight. Our new bedroom furniture comes on Monday. Dan and I will be sleeping in the spare bedroom in a double bed. This ought to be good. We always have our scripture study when we get up in the morning and just do it in bed. I imagine we will be going downstairs to study until our new bed gets here.

Nostolgic Tuesday

I didn't get to write last night because Dan moved his computer downstairs to the basement and once he shuts it down mine is off too. A busy morning. Had to run and pick up Dan's glasses from the Eye Center. Lady decided to eat them one day and so we had to order new frames. Last night I got the spare bedroom book case cleaned off. I boxed the books up and stashed them in the spare bathroom. While I was working on the closet, I found loads of clothes belonging to Spencer and a shirt or two of Danny Lee's. As Fields of Gold (Sting) played softly in the background I started to tear up. I found several Scout shirts and some shirts I know the boys wore in high school. It seems so long ago they were at home, not his home but here with Dan and I. It's over before you know it. Now they have boys of their own and will soon start having them. The potty training I don't miss. Hang in there. He must have forgotten how to go this morning. It will get better Sarah.

Annoying Tuesday

Woke up to snow and wind. It was a whopping 33 degrees. I took Sister Hall to the Dr. and found it very slippery on the blacktop between Metamora and Washington. Of course Woodford County didn't have the roads cleaned off. Tazewell did. Many of the counties are out of salt. Went food storage shopping at Walmart and Kroger. On my way home the temperature was definitely colder. Brought Sr. Pedrick a piece of the Bumbleberry Pie. I was gone about 10 minutes and when I got back home the driveway was cleaned off. The snow is starting to blow so the driveway was clean for awhile. English class was cancelled tonight. I doubt many would have showed up with the temperatures dropping. Laura hasn't had her baby yet. Once she delivers and recoups things should go back to normal.

The Staff of Life

Order your wheat if you can find it. Our Bishop's Storehouse is very low and says that the price of wheat is going to go through the roof. Have you noticed the price of eggs lately? The prices are out of sight because the cost of feeding the chickens has gone up: grain. Our Stake Food Storage Specialist is going to see if our stake will pay for a truck and if our storehouse can get some reserve wheat. I have plenty of wheat but will either get it from the storehouse at a good price before it goes up or order from Honeyvillegrain. at $1. 00 /lb. Signs of the times?

Monday Morning Mahem

I am in the process of cleaning out closets because the carpet guy is coming Saturday to measure for new carpeting. I did alot on Saturday with Dan and my closet. He still has lots of papers to go through. He has so much stuff from High Council he hasn't gone through in years. He has no choice now. We purchased a new bedroom set that will be delivered next Monday so I cleaning out our room. Can't wait to sleep on a new mattress. I also need to make an appt. for someone to see me about my eye. Several weeks ago I got this unusual bruising but almost a petechia. I first had this happen about three years ago as I was leaving for Wyoming. They checked my platelets but found nothing wrong. I don't think it's normal. We shall see.

Sunday Dinner: Tortilla Pie

1 cup frozen corn kernels (Danny, not colonel)
2 green onions ( I used onion powder)
1 t ground cumin
1 1/2 cups salsa
1-15 oz. can black beans drained and rinsed
4 burrito sized tortillas ( I used whole wheat, yum)
1-8 oz. pkg. grated cheese
2 T chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 450. In a non stick skillet, cook corn, onions and cumin with Pam until warm. Add salsa and beans. Place one tortilla on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam. Add one cup of bean mixture on top of tortilla add 1/2 cup of cheese. Repeat three times. With the fourth tortilla on top , add the remaining cheese. Bake for 10 minutes. Top with cilantro and cut into 4 pieces. Top with sour cream and more salsa if desired. Buen provecho.

My first blog

Who knew it would be this easy. I love reading Sarah's blog and seeing my grandchildren so now I will try my own. Hope this is interesting to somebody. I will certainly be learning as I go.