RAK--You can participate

A friend of mine volunteers in the emergency room at a local hospital. She noticed that children came in so upset they couldn't even take their temperature. Once she handed a small toy to a screaming child and the child calmed right down so they could get her vitals. She is now spending $20 and $30 a week to take small Ty Baby toys to the hospital each weekend so she will have enough for any children who come in.

If you would like to do a random act of kindness feel free to send new or gently used Ty Babies to:

Rita Zimny
Legislative Council
1700 W. Washington
Suite 241
Phoenix, AZ 85007

I will be donating weekly.

SPT-Thanksgiving in the shadows

The Challenge: "your challenge this week is to find a quiet moment. give thanks for all that you have been given, all that you have given in this past year. take advantage of a pocket of an afternoon when you can slip away and be thank-full. we can all make time for this very important date with ourselves, with only our shadow along for company."

This weekend Tarzan went on a fishing trip and I had 3 whole days alone to think. I realized that I am thankful for so much that it cannot be put into a simple list. I made a list and it was so silly to read that I deleted it. The truth is it would be easier to make a list of things I am not thankful for, it would be a much shorter list.

For just this weekend, I was thankful for some down time, a great RS secretary, a fantastic Ward Council, old movies, wireless computers, a soft couch, a heater that works, a husband who loves me and the temple.

Life is fantastic and I love this shadow picture, it looks like I have a bun on the back of my head like maybe I have long hair again, sigh.

10 random things

1. I had to wear a sweater this morning--first time this winter


2. Marie Osmond lost over 30 pounds while doing Dancing with the Stars


3. I woke up this morning grateful for Tarzan and told him so


4. I made a sweet potato pie for the guys at work and Tarzan took it on his fishing trip this weekend. He says if it's in the refrigerator and it doesn't have a name on it, it is fair game, oh well. Communications, Sandi, remember, communications


5. All of the papers turned in so far in the html class I teach are graded


6. We made a list of things to do in December this year--a first for us.


7. I love Schweppes Ginger ale


8. Sunday Sacrament meeting was a good reminder about the basics of the Gospel
9. It always amazes me when people are just unhappy--no matter what
10. I'm nervous about next semester's classes.

Why I teach...

Kind notes from my students:

"I have to repeate myself again that taking your class was not like taking any other classes because your classes are so interesting and seemed like we're having fun most the time. Thank you very much for everything."

"I love this class, do you teach other courses at delta? I have never looked forward to homework so much."

"Thank you for a wonderful class. Really enjoyed it , and learned a lot from you."

"Just a quick note to thank you. I throughly enjoyed this class and it was a pleasure having you as the instructor. You do a fabulous job and your teaching style is very easy to understand and learn from. "

"There was this one time, in second grade....well I loved my teacher so much, I didn't want to go on summer vacation because I knew I would miss her. I am sad to see this semester come to an end because you are so great!"

"thanks ms grandberry :D. i knew you wouldn't let me down :D.. By the way I just wanted to let you know you are one of the best teachers I've had since iv'e been at delta..most all of my classes are online because I have so many other things going on in my life to go to campus. I am holding 2 jobs and doing 3 classes. So its really tough : /..but thanks for being so understanding and helping me. I appreciate it. I also learned alot and I feel very comfortable working in HTML. "

"I really liked this class. I've never had an internet class that used the chatroom, I liked that. It was something different."

"Great teacher! I learned so much in this class about HTML and she really knows her stuff. I recommend this class if you want to learn HTML."

"Mrs. Grandberry is so helpful, and kind. As long as you communicate with her she is incredibly helpful and understanding. I would love to take more courses with her as my professor!I came away from the class with a wealth of knowledge."

"Teacher was very patience and very understanding. She teaches very well."

Getting control of my life--Long post

Those who know me well know that I have been frazzled lately. The past two weekends we have visited our grandchildren (which of course meant we got to visit our children as well). This has been a stress relieving experience. The level of love extended to us was unbelievable. Our grandchildren just wanted to be with us, nothing special, just time with us. We were going to do something grand with the grandchildren like go fishing, or take them to the zoo or go shopping, all they wanted to do was spend time with us.

First, we went to see the southern California families. The tradition with those families is to take the grandchildren to a hotel, give them the remote control, order room service and let them jump on the beds until they fall asleep with exhaustion. Everyone has grown past the bed jumping phase and now we only have pillow fights. They wanted to spend their time with us in the hotel. We bought some board games and played all afternoon then went to Chucky Cheese. While we were there one of the machines ran out of tickets so we called for help. When the boys came to help cute little Kylee they filled the machine with tickets and set it to automatically feed. It started spitting out tickets and she got over 200 tickets. She was jumping up and down and throwing tickets in the air and wrapping them around her neck like a scarf, it was adorable. She split them with her cousins. Dau, who is 12, learned long ago that the prizes are cheap and just fall apart, so he was not really interested in prizes, but loved the food and games. Lee and Kylee each got things they loved, rings, bracelets, balls, games, candy. It was great fun.

This video is three of the four of them playing Piranha. Lee eats Kylee's fish and everyone laughs, even Kylee, just not in this video.

Next, we visited our Northern California grandchildren and I took a bazillion pictures with my phone camera. The only clear picture I got was of my knee. While there we were able to discuss business matters that have been pressing on us and get a whole new outlook on the approach we want to take with our new business. We had dinner at the peer and took a little time to watch some soccor. Here are some out of focus pictures of a fun time. (Oh, yes, Brian has a swimming pool inside his house, so there was a swimming party while we were there.)

Sasha and Nami getting awards. They tied for the championship.

Tristan after his game, they won the championship game.

All three Northerners

Now, see what I mean, I have got to perfect this self-portrait thing, my daughter-in-law is adorable, and just look at how lame this picture is.

The swimming party. There were lots more children than this picture expresses.

And finally, Tarzan and Brian deep in political discussion as we walk along the peer listening to the sea otters bark.

We returned home to the joy of a visit from our Texas grandchildren at our home. They visited for 2 days and I forgot to take any pictures, but based on what you see above, it's not much of a loss. Harris and Tarzan spent quite a bit of time together and in particular, Harris got to ride in the trailer as Tarzan pulled him down the hill to lock the gate. He was thrilled and said that was one of the best days ever. Maddison and Amber are so grown up, it is fun to be with them. We had a great time, they are fun people.

So, to end this long post, we are relaxed and enjoying our new venture with no stress added to our lives. Brian was very helpful in putting things in perspective for us and gave us some fantastic advice. Thanks son.

SPT-Advanced Christmas Preparations

Please don't hate me. When I get my Christmas cards finished the Thursday after Thanksgiving at our Card-a-poluza activity at the Church, I'm done.

You see, we have ten grandchildren and they have twenty-two grandparents. We decided that rather than get caught up in the Christmas hub-bub and have the children not really even know who sent them what, we would give presents all year long. So, beginning in January and continuing through November, our children and grandchildren get presents from us wrapped in Christmas paper. The first year it was really hard to break the habit of sending something at Christmas time, but the second year it was a breeze, this year, I don't even feel worried that the little grandchildren won't understand. A child who receives a game for their Wii in June is far more appreciative than a child who receives it at Christmas in "competition" with a bazillion other gifts.

So, you see, I am finished. Tarzan and I usually make a large batch of something fun to give people who come to our house. One year it was prickly pear jam, one year it was bottled banana nut bread, this year, someone told me they had a margarita jam recipe, I'm trying to get that, but if we don't get it, it doesn't matter, we can just give out a card to anyone who comes by.

This tradition allows us to focus on the true purpose of Christmas and renew our intention to do kind deeds throughout the year.

RAK

Without divulging personal information, one sister in our Ward is overwhelmed right now, 3 other people have offered to give her children rides to church activities for the next 3 months to give her a break through the holidays. That is so awesome.

Military Shoes

It's not that I have nothing to blog about, it's just that I am soooo busy right now. So, here goes nothing. See these shoes?

We have a new Intern working in our office and I noticed his SHINY, black shoes while we were playing a dice game (yes, we were taking a game break since none of us smoke and we don't take smoke breaks). I asked if he came from a military family. He said no, he just bought brand new shows for 26 cents last weekend to wear to his new job with us. Tarzan would be proud of the shiny, black shoes. Where in the world can you buy shoes like that for 26 cents?

Okay, back to work.