♥♥ λnD ThEn sHe ςλίD... ♥♥

and POOF! it was GONE

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:12:35 GMT

so....there i was trying to add my new banner, i clicked publish and whoosh! my entire space from the last two years disappeared. pictures, blogs, friends, all but the title saying something about me wearing high heels....whoopdeedoo.

guess i would panic if i didn't have other worries right now. hmmm....

obviously i figured out how to get the blogs back - that was nice. i kinda liked my blogs. when i read them, i kinda thought i was a pretty funny person at times, and even wanted to be friends with myself sometimes. sometimes. other times i thought i was a bit of a dork. but that's a tangent - or segway in newer terms.

>sigh<

Guess I'll paint the walls a new color as long as i have moving to do. ; )

1:25 AM ~ Success! The paint is dry, new banner is up on the wall! All is well and i am off to bed.....tomorrow....we take the kids and friends to the beach to celebrate the 4th! Happy Birthday America!

Death of a Tree...Guacamole Anyone?

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:07:18 GMT

When we moved to California years ago, I was sticker-shocked by the price of homes. The homes we were looking at were somewhat smaller, 60 years older and nearly 3 times the price of the home we had just sold. We finally found a cute little gingerbread house, completely renovated inside, built in 1940.... one of the greatest redeeming qualities of the house? An old huge tree in the backyard. I love trees. I always have. I ran down the steps of the small path in the backyard toward the gnarled tree to check it out. Large exposed roots rose out of the ground and the branches were huge, reaching 30-40 feet in the air. Coming from Las Vegas, where practically NOTHING can be coaxed into growing, and where I spent hundreds - no no no - thousands of dollars on flowers and trees that all eventually croaked and died in the desert heat.....and here was this 60 year old tree - absolutely beautiful and completely alive.

What kind of tree it was, we didn't know, large deep green leaves gave no clue, and we didn't see any fruit on the tree. As I walked toward the tree, I stepped on something large and almost tripped, and as I looked down I saw a large green THING. I very gingerly reached down and picked it up and I could hardly believe what I held in my hand. It was a huge avocado. Looking around the ground there were more. And more....and more..... I am not talking the small ones you get in the grocery store. These were very nearly a pound each. California Haas avocados. Over time we have learned that these are the sweetest and creamiest people have ever had. We have given them away to friends and sent them to family, the neighbors love to have our avocados for Cinco de Mayo parties or just for whatever. The tree is what made the house a home for me. It is the reason I wanted the house, the deciding factor.

Behind the tree was a garden wall that separated the properties. The wall was the original wall built with the home, and while it was built to retain the earth behind it on our side, as the elevation descends going to the other property, there was not any steel rebar put in the wall, because of the age of the wall, and it had begun to crumble. The walls on all sides were this way and it was a concern, but it had been that way for over 20 years or more. But we knew it was a matter of time..... and the time finally arrived with the huge rainfall we received last Winter. After days of rain, and flooding in our garage, my son came in from the backyard and asked if I knew that the back wall had fallen over....

!!!!!!

I ran outside and sure enough, where the wall had once been, was our neighbors' backyard looking at me.
To make a long story not too much longer....suffice it to say, THAT neighbor is determined that it is the TREE's roots, rather than the age of the wall and the rain, that caused the wall to fail. We offered to rebuild around the root system, offered to buy the land outright where the roots have grown (under the ground) on and on.

She has answered with a lawsuit - to us and our insurance company.

And so.....the beautiful, graceful, 60 year old tree is coming down tomorrow morning.

I will sit inside my house and watch through my glass doors.....and cry.

for you ~n~ Billy and pretty words

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 01:28:57 GMT

"Often, I write all day long with white ink on white paper, late into the night, until it is all I can do to feel the letters curving to earth from the tip of the pen & then, I fall asleep. Dreaming of running, or maybe driving in a car the color of water & I wake the next day remembering nothing & I gather the stack of paper & a pen of black on the desk in front of me & the words begin to dance over the page like long legged insects across a still lake & the words in white whisper behind & underneath the new day. If there is any secret to this life I live, this is it: the sound of what cannot be seen sings within everything that can. & there is nothing more to it than that."

I wish those were my own words - but they are not - they are from the same person whom I highlight in my tagline - Brian Andreas - the man behind Storypeople. I love beautiful words. Lyrical. They pull at my heartstrings.

And now this one (below - also by Brian Andreas) is for my dear sweet friend Ash - who has lost his best friend and only those who have had the unconditional and undying love of a faithful dog would understand the pain he is feeling today at letting his beloved friend go.

"The only thing that separates (us) from the animals is a lot of words, so when (we're) not talking much, the gap closes really quick." Rest well Billy....

HoOtErS ReViSiTeD

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:46:26 GMT

Some of you have already seen this post. A family member asked me about it and I looked for it just now and lo and behold!! the date on it was April 11th of 2007 - so I thought hmmmm..... must be a sign for me to post that blog again so everyone knows what my poor body looks like!!! LOL so - here we go again!! Enjoy!!

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES

I'm not much of a feminist, and so, unlike some other women, Hooters® has never been a problem for me. You ALREADY know that I speak not of Owls ~ nocturnal birds of prey ~ nor of the O.W.L.'s - Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) ~ the annual exam given to pupils of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry during their 3rd thru 5th years at Hogwarts. No, no....I do indeed speak of Hooters® ~ that notorious American restaurant chain that targets male customers (not mail customers) by boasting a staff of female waitresses. These Hooters® Girls are known for their All-American good looks. Ahhhh, I see it in your thoughts right now - 'that is NOT what they are hired for'. Well....that is true too. And there in lies the subject for this story.

I'm not sure how the discussion first came up, but the whole fam damily was in a local 50's themed restaurant. Maybe it was the waitress taking our order that first sparked Hunter's memory. Suddenly Hunter spoke up "Nick (his friend) said that if a girl wants to work at Hooters®, she has to stand in front of a wall as close as she can, but her nose can't touch the wall." He looked at all of us with a grin, "Do you know what I mean?" We just stared at him, a bit shocked, quite amused, and wondering how we were to approach this. After a couple of moments of complete silence, we began to laugh.

Since I am unemployed and we are always talking about crazy jobs that I could do for work, I said, "Hey, maybe I could get a job at Hooters®."

We all laughed, and Hunter said, "Momma, your nose would touch the wall!"

I was surprised he would say this as it's obvious I have ample bosom. "How come, Hunter?" Hunter.....my sweet, my darling, my kind, wonderful boy.

Without skipping a single beat, my adorable and oh-so-innocent son said, " 'Cause the Hooters® girls look like THIS....." and he put both hands in front of his chest and showed us the Hooters® form. (diagram A)

diagram A ☞

"....and you......

(ooooh man......I already knew what was coming)

......look like THIS!
diagram B ☞

(Give 'em 20 years, son, and their's will be hanging to their toes!!)

We tipped the waitress extra. She had heard the whole conversation. I call it 'hush money'.

What's Right With Our Country...

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:06:40 GMT

I feel a lack of respect and lack of patriotism is a big problem in our country right now. Not with everyone of course. But for example, as a teacher, I had the opportunity last year to be at a weekly school flag ceremony. The children at the school have been taught by their teachers how to behave and hopefully this is also taught at home. But week after week at these ceremonies, I would see and hear parents - who were there to see their children receive an award - sit or walk around and continue talking, their hand NOT on their heart, during the pledge and while the colors were being presented. What is this?? Yes, I live in an area where people of many different nationalities are coming together, but if you choose to move to this country and partake of it's many gifts, then you should show respect. When I lived in foreign countries, I felt it was my duty to show my respect by learning the national anthems and stand at the presentation of the flags with the citizens of those countries. And why not? One group of people who have moved here are respectful and expect their children to accept their new homeland and have much pride and respect and are grateful for their new homeland. Another group have none of that grace, showing no gratitude for the country that has given them a second chance to have a life of prosperity and freedom. It simply blows my mind. And it makes me so mad.

Even at parades, when the flag of our nation is paraded by, people, many of whom are American citizens BORN HERE in the USA, do not put their hand on their hearts or remove their hats from their heads or stop talking. This shows a complete lack of respect and patriotism. It shows ignorance and apathy. Perhaps we are angry about government decisions, perhaps we don't like the way things are, but this country is a country of freedom. We should be proud of this young nation that has done amazing things. (OK teacher mode over....)

The following page ~ click on the link ~ has the rules of displaying the flag and you might be VERY surprised at some of these rules. The rules of when to salute the flag I will post here so all can see, but go visit the web page if you can, and have a family discussion about it. There is much more to it than we realize, and learning about it will help us HAVE more respect for this great symbol of our nation.

CLICK HERE FOR LINK >> SHOWING RESPECT FOR OUR COUNTRY'S FLAG

This salute (explained below) is presented at several important times:

When the Flag is being raised or lowered from the flag pole.
When the Flag is passing by, as in a parade or Flag ceremony
When reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
At the Playing of our National Anthem.

All persons present except those in uniform should face the flag and stand at attention with the right hand over the heart. Those present in uniform should render the military salute. When not in uniform, those with hats should remove their hat with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Aliens (meaning non-citizens) should stand at attention.

So what IS right with America? Our youth - so here's a combination of our youth and our country's National Anthem... see if YOU don't feel a swell of pride when you hear them sing the song at a sporting event. Amazing!

A Beautiful Easter Day

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 23:25:06 GMT

Our Grandma, my husband's grandma, passed away over a year ago. I wrote a blog about her, how wonderful she is and how much we miss her. After her funeral, my husband was asked what he might want of hers to remember her by. I asked him to PLEASE ask for some of her glorious Iris bulbs. She had a beautiful garden of all types of flowers, but one large corner was full of all colors of irises. A few months later we got some bulbs and planted them in our front garden.

This week, I suddenly noticed that a large stem had shot up in the garden, and on closer inspection it proved to be an iris stem. I called my husband and left a message, very excited that the flowers were starting to grow.

Today, right after arriving home from church, I looked out of our SUV window in absolute astonishment, for there in front of the car, where the stem alone had been yesterday, was a beautiful stunning violet iris. On Easter morning........

A Weekend Treat for My Friends

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 08:35:13 GMT

For those of you here in the states who are hiding under a rock (ok, I am just teasing) and haven't been watching American Idol, I want to give you the opportunity to watch THE best, most beautiful, most moving, incredible vocal I have heard in a long time. For those who watched on Tuesday night and listened to David Archuleta, a 17 year old from Salt Lake City sing John Lennon, you know to pull out your kleenex with Paula....because it's a heart tugger...

The first video is a video featuring the before videos about the vocalist and the judges opinions. The second video is the song only for those with with less time to watch. ENJOY!!

S.H.O.F.

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:15:15 GMT

This is a difficult thing for me to blog about, and I have put it everlastingly off until I think I better say something or appear ungrateful to my dear friend, Geri, who I absolutely adore, as she nominated me for most lovable female (isn't that a hoot??) (I am positive that was run-on sentence, but deal with it english majors!) I'm not comfortable calling attention to myself, so I don't like blogging about S.H.OF. nominations. There are actually 7 of us nominated under this category - 6 other wonderful women, most of whom all blog walk the same trails in Spaces. I never expect a lot, but I am always grateful for my friends who have thought to nominate me. I haven't even really been very active on Spaces the last months due to my need to spend more time with my family at home. But Thank You Geri for the kind nomination and thank you to those who have voted or who might yet vote thinking that I am lovable - y'all need to spend a day with me and my kids - then

you might retract your vote!! LOL

click above to go to S.H.O.F. Space

worth the wait....by Laura (my sister)

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:21:03 GMT

I waited 20+ years for this little piece of perfection - she is my bitty baby Bella Blue.

It is amazing that one little old determined errant egg pushed it's way through and became the love of my life - at long last.

To get such perfection was not as easy as some deem it to be.

I endured:

Four laparoscopies

Three attempts at artificial insemination

Two rounds of lupron depot (i.e. MENOPAUSE)

One divorce (and most importantly - one Frenchman!)

She certainly was "worth the wait". :)

(editor's note (that's me!) I would love for you to go to Laura's new space - she's a new blogger - and leave her a comment if you haven't already, in place of leaving one here. She has loved getting to read your comments. THANKS to my dear friends for taking her under your wings as you have always done with me!...)

http://laura-babe-belle.spaces.live.com/

Alma 26: 27

Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go. . .and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.

a very scientific poll for valentines' day gift choosing

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:16:14 GMT

If you like this poll (below) - PLEASE go visit one of my favorite sites - STORYBOOK PEOPLE <<< click there - The people who work at Storybook People have the same warped sense of humor that I do, and , well, let's be honest - so do most of you, my dear space friends. And THAT is why I like 'em so much. Now for the Scientific Valentine Gift Poll

And of course some update photos on my niece - now miraculously having survived one week with my crazy family - go figure!

finally! awake for a minute! :) (and missing her auntie tres)

announcing the arrival of.....Isabella Cristina!

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:56:23 GMT

in the words of my sister, Laura....

She has arrived and she is beautiful - living up to her name! Bella Isabella Cristina....

The labor started Monday night and HURT LIKE HELL - but gratefully only lasted a few hours. The delivery was spectacular - and I am pleased to announce that (with a natural birth even) I did not scream, curse or yell - go figure... :)

the announcement

Momma and Bella leepin'

Momma and Bella meeting for the first time

going home from the hospital

Musings On Pregnancy

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 04:32:04 GMT

These following excerpts are from my sister's, Laura, brand new blog here in Spaces. Go visit her SPACE and tell her you are my friend. She will smack me for it later! LOL

ON being pregnant at 40 for the first time :

Ok, so my well-intentioned-sister Tressie (and I know that she is probably right) (I am of course) thinks that I need to blog and save all of my precious memories...the funny thing is that my excuse not to journal was always that I won't have any posterity - isn't Heavenly Father funny?? He decided to nip that in the bud and I was shocked to find out at the beginning of last summer that I was indeed to have posterity!

Imagine my surprise at the ripe age of 40 and after having tried desperately for YEARS to get pregnant that despite my age, chronic endometriosis and the pill that I was six weeks pregnant - I think that my shock rivals that of Sarah and Abraham (ok, I did fall on my face, but I wasn't exactly laughing!)

My little man (it may be a girl, although I am somehow convinced that it isn't) is due to appear at any time...how scary is that?!

ON comments made to a pregnant woman regarding the size of her belly :

You have just got to laugh at the asinine and curious comments that people make to a pregnant woman...what else can you do?

You can tell what a person's self esteem is pretty much based on the comments they make at this sensitive and critical time in your life - those who have been pregnant more recently - and who are secure with themselves - tell you "you look fabulous!" "I wish that I had looked that good" "you can't even tell your pregnant unless I look right at your belly" "aren't you just the cutest pregant woman?! - I love those people!

Then we have - the others - "Just when I think you can't get any huger...YOU DO!!" (is huger a word?) "You look like you are about to blow at any time!" (what am I? A whale?) "wow, you look like you might explode!" (just watch me if you make that ridiculous remark again) - these are the observations by women who either a) aren't very comfortable with their own bodies b) haven't been pregnant in a long time or c) feel the need to take a stab when they see me in a weakened state - they don't endear themselves to me with their pejorative opinions.

So, the moral of this blog...be nice to pregnant women! We are carrying an entire little person in there and that is pretty freaking amazing!!

ON the size of a pregnant woman's bladder and it's (in)ability to hold it's contents :

There is nothing quite like the bladder of a pregnant woman - especially when this woman's normal state is like that of a pregnant woman when NOT pregnant!

I have been blessed (not!) with fabulous kidneys, an unquenchable thirst and an itty-bitty bladder - lucky me.

I am forever hearing from my step-daughter an incredulous - "AGAIN?!!" - each time I have to visit the loo - like I'm taking some sort of fabulous vacation in there (every 15 - 30 minutes!).

Then there is the dreaded plane flight - do I want the window or the aisle?? The aisle leads to constant bumps and the inconvenience of getting up for those at the window seat - the window seat means that you have to disturb everyone else to get up - so you had better wait it out so as not to perturb those by you too much. So, I take the window and try to hold it until it has become physically impossible and too painful to do so any longer...and once I get up and get to the back and await my turn I hear a slight *tinkle* (ok, just say the word and you'll know the length of time I actually did tinkle). It is amazing how those 2 teaspoons of urine were pressing on my itty-bitty pregnant bladder!

Could I just be catheterized - PLEASE??!!

(editor's note : watch for an update as I go to SLC to bug Laura and make her run stairs, etc, in anticipation of the baby's arrival!)

Instead of leaving a comment here, please go to

click here >>Laura's space << click here

and leave a comment for her and welcome her to Spaces.

Thanks!!

mom would be proud

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 07:27:47 GMT

The youngest of my 3 brothers (two years older than me) calls me several times a month when he gets stuck in traffic. We have some hilarious conversations. I think I often shock him with my stories and he gets quite a kick out of that. He called the other day and we talked through the traffic jam and up till he reached his destination in the SLC avenues. He was checking out some new property they had acquired, and upon arriving, he informed me that he needed to <ahem> "relieve" himself and wouldn't be able to talk much longer and would have to go soon. (Pretty handsome huh? His blue eyes put mine to shame!)

This remark threw my mind back to when I was in the 10th grade and my brother was a senior in high school. When I got up one morning my mom told us all about how she woke up during the night to the sound of water pouring into the irrigation ditch (these are common in the older parts of Salt Lake) She listened to it for several minutes, finally got up, turned on an outside light and went to a window to look for the source of the sound and found my brother in a sleep-walking state standing by the ditch and.....ummm....peeing. And peeing. and peeing. Into the ditch. Outside.

The sound followed her as she made her way back to bed.

When she asked him about it, he simply said he woke up during the night and had to go pretty bad and, as the only bathroom he could use in the house was too far away for him to get to, he went to the great outdoors.

It's a story we have all laughed about for years.

Bounce ahead 30 years to the present. We continued chatting and laughing. I got onto some funny story that made him crack up and laugh. Then I told him some more serious things (see below) and by the time we finished talking, it had been about 45 minutes. Long time if you needed a potty break. Which I had completely forgotten about. And I suddenly remembered....

"Ummmm.....Big D - hey - so sorry - I forgot you needed to use the restroom and I have just talked on and on....do you need to get off?"

"Oh no!" he tells me with a laugh, "I already took care of that in the backyard in the ditch while we were talking."

Mom would be so proud....

This same brother and I have not always been close. Growing up, he was a pain in the patootee and he thought I was the same. We fought, kicked, scratched, booby twisted, hit, slapped, smacked, teased, you name it. One time he locked me out of the house in the winter, and while trying to get back in, and throwing a hissy fit, I knocked so hard on the door's window that it broke and my hand went right through the broken glass. I had to run down the stairs and stick my hand into the snow while I waited for someone to notice I was bleeding. Oh the days. Sounds awful, but with a brood of kids, it was just how it was. I actually finally stopped biting my nails just so I could scratch him good and hard. He was so good looking that girls were always trying to be MY friend to be close to HIM. And he loved letting me know about it. Fortunately, payback arrived in late high school and college days as his friends started to notice me. He was not happy about that. But, time rolled along, and life was tough on him - he's my brother from the Christmas story blog - and rather than letting life beat him down, I have watched him smile back and let the bad roll off of his back. He has amazed me sometimes.

So while we were talking this particular day, something kept poking at me and telling me to let him know what I thought. Out of the blue - and it wasn't easy to do.

So...I asked him if he realized that he was the brother that the three of us girls in the family knew we could always depend on. I told him we had all talked, us girls, and we all agreed that we knew he wouldn't judge us and would always be there for us and help us if we needed him. I told him that I had also talked about him with our parents and that they agreed with me and had talked with me about his amazing remarkable life changes he had made over the last 25 years. That rather than let life pull him down, he had let life smooth his corners and rough edges and he had become an amazing man. They knew they could always count on him to be there for them and they were so proud of him. In fact, I had just talked with them about it a few weeks prior to talking to him. So many times when he has had something happen to him that could have made him angry at someone or call life unfair, he has simply taken a deep breath and looked ahead, and begun once again to advance. My voice was pretty emotional talking to him of course. I stopped to catch my breath and my emotions.

"Wow" he said "I had no idea you thought that or felt that way."

I could not believe it - how could he not have known that??

"I am so touched. Thank you for sharing that with me. It means so much to me"

And then he told me something that I don't think I have ever heard him say to me or me say to him - even though we have become closer these last 10 years or so.

"I love you"

It was one of the most amazing conversations that I have ever had.

picking up the pieces

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:15:19 GMT

Did the New Year pass by? Apparently it did me. I was in a haze of morphine and codeine etc - seems a cold that came on fast and quick - during our 14 hour drive home from Utah - (up and down in elevation) the nasty feeling that got worse in my throat and climbed up to my ears and made me painfully aware of each tiny bone in my ear, built up enough pressure to make me give in to the pain (can I EVER get a normal sickness?) and go once again to an emergency room (and on a NORMAL day of the week, please!!) to wait for hours to be told I have a very ugleeeeeeeee eardrum - thank you very much. :) But I got the lovely morphine shot and some antibiotics and more pain meds. Then sometime during the night, the pressure in the inner ear won the battle - and probably the war - and ruptured my eardrum. It was a relief of a sort, I was still in a lot of pain, but I slept through about 3 days of life. I remember nothing and frankly - that's ok with me. New Year's ain't all that lately. Unfortunately - and to the ultimate and continued enjoyment of my family, I am deaf in my left ear. Can't hear a thing. Huh? What did you say? :) The ENT specialist, after poking, vacuuming (ummm yeah) and seriously hurting me yesterday (he actually told me to hold still!!) told me all the things I need to do for the next SIX WEEKS, and said that I should hear once again.... (this includes showering or bathing 2 - 3 times a day in HOT water to breath in the steam - great therapy eh?)

I said "huh?" to him 3 times just to make him keep repeating the instructions...heh heh heh. Vacuum MY ear out will you?

Did you know a ruptured eardrum makes you walk like a drunk old woman? Yes it does. I have swayed more than many times this last week - especially on Sunday at church in my 3 1/2" heels. Steve Madden would be proud of me as I held my own in his shoes. So feeling under the weather, I decided to make some CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE TUMMY! Now let me help you know me a bit better for just a moment ~ even if you don't want to ~ there are a few things I do well and a MULTITUDE of things I don't do well at all. What I do well is: play the piano, figure out who's lying, sleep in, play around with computers, make friends with little kids and animals, AND.....(drum roll please) MAKE CHICKEN SOUP!! It's true. My Chicken Soup is amazing. Wherever I take it and to whomever I take it to, they LOVE it and ask me for the recipe. Even my daughter ~ a teenager mind you ~ told her adorable boyfriend that her mom's chicken soup is the best in the world. The thing is...the hilarious funny ridiculous thing is....

IT'S THE EASIEST THING IN THE WORLD TO MAKE!

So since it's cold right now for most of you, I am going to give you the recipe and if you make it you HAVE to let me know what you think. Now I make a TON of soup - like 6 quarts - and it lasts for days. The noodles and veggies keep soaking in the juices and you just add more water to heat it up again. I'll stick the recipe at the bottom of this - it's off the top of my head. I used to boil my chicken - and my mom would say "Why do you buy skinless breasts? A whole chicken is so much cheaper!" Ummm yeah! for a reason!! the ICK factor. I simply canNOT eat food I have to clean like that, except a turkey. So I used to boil chicken breasts - THEN I discovered something that made my life a WHOLE NEW WORLD!!! CANNED CHICKEN BREAST! Oh my goodness - every chicken dish is so much faster and easier with canned chicken breast - and from Trader Joe's it's very inexpensive.

Did you happen to go see one of the #1 shows of the holiday season? I AM LEGEND. Wellllll.....my son left very shortly into the show to go watch the Chip and Dale Movie once the alien/rabid human thingies appeared. I was glad I hadn't just eaten. EWWWW! THEN...THEN....THEN they did the ULTIMATE NO NO NO NO NO!!!!

THEY KILLED THE CO-STAR/DOG SAMANTHA!!!! WHAAAAAT!???

It was the end of my good day - sucked the joy out of life for me. I would have rather the man died and the dog gone on to the Virginia Hills to live. FOR PETE's SAKE!! The debates this weeks were funner and more entertaining. Nuff said. OK Billy - I did like the show - I was just mad about the dog and those rabies people creeped me out..

I don't know about YOU, but I had a great Christmas and Santa brought me a RED MIX MASTER! Yes, I am 46 and have finally gotten a mix master. I have envied my friends and sisters~in~law for YEARS because they owned a beautiful piece of metal known as a mix master. Looks good on my black granite counter kitchen with chrome appliances. Who CARES if it is never used???

IT'S GORGEOUS AND IT'S MINE!!!!

(Thanks honey ~ er Santa)

Recipe for Chicken Soup

It's all about the celery and fresh ground pepper

don't get caught up in numbers - throw the ingredients in and don't worry

If I can do this, ANYONE can!

1 lb raw carrots
1 lb celery stalks
16 oz fresh or dried pasta

(I prefer to use xtra wide egg noodles or fettucini noodles and of course fresh is yummy best - fettucini noodles need to be cut before cooking)

2 10 oz cans of cream of chicken soup
1 or two cans of chicken or vegetable broth
1 large can (10 oz) of chicken breast

Cut up the celery and carrots after washing them. I use the whole carrot and don't peel it and I cut them into round think slices. If you cook dry pasta, the carrots and celery can cook with the pasta at the same time. In a LARGE pot, boil the veggies for about 10 - 15 minutes depending on how crunchy or soft you like your veggies to be. Drain out al the water used to cook pasta and veggies and then add the soup and the broth to the pasta and veggies, using the soup cans to fill with water to add to the soup. Add the chicken and stir well. Bring to a low simmer while you are adding LOTS and LOTS of black pepper - preferrably fresh ground pepper, and salt. Pepper is the one essential ingredient I add. Even people who don't usually use pepper are surprised how much they like it - You should be able to see fleck of pepper in each spoonful. Unless you HATE pepper or are allergic of course.

Now I realize this might be hard to understand as I am reeling this off of my dinged head, so send me a message or comment if you don't understand. But honestly it is so easy and with some garlic or cheese toast and salad it is - - - mmmmmmm YUM! And the nice thing is it is a very pretty soup to take to dinners or to someone who is sick. the green and orange vegetables with the light yellow soup is really delicious looking. Bon appetit.

addendum and answers to my buddies' comments

Nikki - I boiled the chicken and then cooled it enough to chop it into 1/2" cubes, but read Shupes version cuz - my oh my it sounds YUMMY!! Which gives me an idea - we need to have a chili cook off online - HEY!! Then I added the chicken with all the other ingredients after the pasta was cooked. The chicken boiled in about 20 minutes when I used boneless chicken breasts.

Shupe - you are a hoot. Like I told you before very poorly on my mobile IM - I am coming to visit you someday when I trip into SLC.

Tellu - just throw in what ever you want - the amounts are negotiable only to what you want - buy a bag of carrots and celery and I'd say the liquids are about 2/3 liter of broth and 2/3 liter of cream soup - any kind but I prefer celery or chicken. As much pasta as you want (2 fistfuls of fettucini is good), add water to make as thin or thick as you want and pepper the HELL out of it!! :)

Patrick - yep only in America, which is why when I lived in Spain and South America I missed tunafish and applesauce sooooo much! Now they probably have those things, but back then.....I ate baby food to get my applesauce kick! lol

To all of you - thank you for the well wishes - I have missed my space friends so much and this is a great reminder just why! ttfn ~ tressie

PS - if you try Jolly Roger's recipe, PLEASE get a rabies shot first!

AND OH YEAH - I HAVE STUDENTS LIKE YOU, STEVE K.!! LOL - AND I ENJOY THEM A LOT!

Bone Appetit

(for Sam the dog)

home for the holidays

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 04:40:52 GMT

One of the memories that comes to me each and every Christmas is the Christmas of 1985. I had recently returned to the states from nearly two years in South America and Spain. During the time I was abroad my parents and sisters had moved to Viña Del Mar, Chile for 3 years; my beloved grandfather had passed away; my oldest brother and his wife I adored had divorced, and their three children were with her in Atlanta GA and it would be another 5 years before I would see them again; my brother just older than me was going through a divorce; both were living alone and lonely. Friends were around, but many had moved on with their lives during my absence. I was 24 and very much alone. My youngest brother and I tried our best to lift our spirits by buying a sad little Christmas tree and we found some dry hay and pine branches and used them to decorate the apartment. There were no gifts, no stockings, no lights. But my sadness was so small in comparison to the sadness and troubles of my brothers, that I tried to keep my feelings inside and not make them carry a heavier burden. I have never felt such a lonely, lonesome feeling in my life. I felt completely alone and bereft.

We each had received a letter from our mom and dad. On the outside were the instructions "DO NOT OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS". It was hard to wait. Communication back then was precious and expensive by phone: nearly $2.00 per minute for a call to Chile. Crying on the phone to your parents from Salt Lake to Chile when you are homesick can really rack up a bill. Hundreds of dollars in phone calls were made each month, and so even letters (before email and IM of course) were a precious commodity.

Morning came and I opened my letter. It began.............

Christmas

Dear Kids,

The other day at a meeting in which I spoke I explained that I was humbly proud of our whole family. That is the way it is------very proud and very grateful for each one of you.

First, I am proud that each has many leadership talents that are used in helping people, and that each has such a zest for life. I am grateful we are a close knit family that really enjoys each other and that all of you feel so much at home in our home. Especially neat is your sticking so close together while we are gone.

With each of you having so many talents, I almost hesitate to emphasize any, but will venture anyway: A (oldest brother) — teacher, great friend of young kids, planner, persuader, abstract thinker, singer, hiker, BB player, buddy; B (2nd brother) — counselor, listener, amiable with people, practical thinker, cowboy, hunter, BB player, dedicated, buddy; D (3rd brother) - active doer, great friend, initiator, tender feelings, quick with figures(math), planner, smiler, BB player, buddy; Tres (me – lol) - gregarious, planner, persuader, tender, caring, one who has overcome much, creative, athletic, buddy; L (younger sister) — expressive, engaging, bubbly, friend, actress, sweet, persuasive, energetic, buddy; M (youngest sister) — active, studier, athletic, doer, tender, inquisitive, team player, reflexive, buddy. Add to this that the sons are handsome that the girls are beautiful and I have only touched the surface of many qualities that all of you share in common. You are all so very fortunate to have a Mom who is caring, amiable, sweet, organized, pretty, tender, service oriented, enthusiastic, lovely, worker, helper, great support, patient, willing, attractive, sentimental, best friend, and buddy. No wonder you all turned out so great!

Thanks for being our children and loving us.

All my love, Dad

** And all of you are self-starters, industrious, resourceful and love reading.

I have never received a Christmas present like that before or since that time. I have kept it all these years in a place close to me where I can find it and read over it often. It is a treasure I will always remember.

While we have been in Utah visiting my family, I really wanted to go to the VA Hospital where my dad works as a chaplain and take some Christmas cards that my kindergarten students had made for the veterans who might be in the hospital over the holidays. Since my kindergartne class is small, I bought some more cards, beautiful and darling cards with 3D pop up pictures on the front, and over the course of a few days, I snaggled my family members, from oldest to youngest, into signing the 40 cards with wishes for a Merry Christmas, etc. I really had wanted both of my children to go with me to deliver them, but my son was too young to be allowed in, but he signed each and every card! So we drove over in the deep snow and cold, my dad, my husband, my daughter and me, and visited two different places in the hospital, one for longer term patients, and one for short term patients. The men were so happy to have us come by, they loved the cards, and my daughter's beautiful smile and best behavior made it even better. Many of the men know and love my dad already and it was a wonderful and heartwarming experience, even though it was freezing outside.