Posts

Showing posts from 2008

Finding joy is not so hard

Image
This is a picture of one of the joyeous moments in my life. I recently found the wonderful list of reminders on finding joy: Surround yourself with color--use colors that make you feel good Start or keep us a blog--express yourself Schedule guilt-free indulges--like chocolate Swap CDs with a friend--find out a little about them through music Be more spontaneous--do something at the last minute just for fun Spread cheer--smile at strangers, give compliments, be a good listener Think like a kid--make up a holiday to celebrate Find the humor in it--whatever it is, find a reason to laugh about it Make one new friend--only one if it is going to be a true friend, not just an acquaintance Get more sleep--at least 7 hours a night, lying in bed relaxing while you fall asleep counts Put your right brain to work--create an artists wall of your own work and change it often Have a pot luck with friends--strengthen the bonds of friendships and include your new friend Explore your hometown--you shoul

Christmas 2009 at our house

Christmas deocrations--Only a Nativity scene Cookies baked, candy made--None Parties attended--Two Christmas songs listened to--Lots Papa's Grow Sticks made--Ten Christmas cards sent--None Christmas gifts sent--None and won't be until after Christmas Hours spent at work--160 in 2 weeks Papers graded--90 in 2 weeks Cold medicine taken--8 Tylenal cold tablets this week. Chicken soup consummed--5 cups Christmas movies watch--Ha, when would I possibly find time to do that. There is always next year

Watching over me

I do not have time to blog right now, but I can't let this go by unrecorded. This morning, I had to be at work starting at 7:00 a.m. I started out as usual going north on 19th Ave. As I approached an intersection, I looked over and saw that QT gas was $1.74 per gallon. At the last minute, I thought, "I'm half empty, I'll just pull in and get gas now." I pulled in. Got out of my car as the light turned green. As I began to slide my card I heard a huge crash behind me. At the intersection where I would be waiting, there was a 4 car accident. A car was headed west and turning south in front of where I would have been parked at the light. The light had turned red. Another car going east, ran the red light and hit the turning car. The turning car ran into the car where I would have been and because the two cars behind it had pulled up too close--the first car was pushed into the second car and the second car pushed into the third car. If you are reading this, remember,

I am thankful

When I was a young married woman and staying home with my children, I got caught up in soap operas. In one of “my shows” a girl got pregnant by one brother, who then went off to war and went missing, so she married the other brother to be the father of her baby because he was the only one she told about the baby, then the father of the baby turned up alive and came back to a bewildered woman who couldn’t decide who she really loved. Well, the evil girl in the show decided to see who the woman really loved and invited her and the father of her child >> but not her husband >> to a party. The woman with the baby had refused to talk to the father of the child and her husband, the brother of the father of the baby, refused to talk to him about it. The woman was asked if she was going to go without her husband, when they all knew the reason for the invitation was to catch her in a love triangle, and she decided to go simply to prove that she loved her husband, dun-dun-dun. I q

Wouldn't it be nice if it was this easy?

Tech Support : Yes, . how can I help you? Customer : Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install Love. Can you guide me through the process? Tech Support : Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed? Customer : Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first? Tech Support : The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart? Customer : Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running? Tech Support : What programs are running ? Customer : Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now. Tech Support : No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely t

Joy, hope and excitement

Learn to look at the signs of the times with a positive attitude >> look forward to the return of our Savior when there will be a thousand years of peace on this earth >> remember that the righteous will suffer with the wicked, but in the end the righteous will prevail >> move through this life with a spirit of joy and hope and excitement >> be of good cheer >> if you are prepared you shall not fear >> look to the Lord in every thought , doubt not, fear not >> I love it when the lesson is inspiring and we are uplifted and filled with joy and hope for the week to follow. Thank you Sherri Wright you are an inspiration to all of us.

My weekend

I woke up Friday morning thinking what a glorious 3 days I had ahead of me. Tarzan was going fishing and I had 3 days to myself to get caught up-- NOT . All of the details are not important, but just say, I was busy doing things for other people 80% of the time, the other 20% was for sleep and my stuff, LOL. The important part is what happened to Tarzan on his fishing trip. On Saturday, I lost contact with him and I decided he had wandered out of phone range. Saturday night about sundown I got a sick feeling in my stomach that he was in trouble. I tried to call him several times, but could not get him on the phone. I did that thing I always do when I have no control over a situation. I said a prayer , and made myself think about other things. Even though I was not actively worrying about him, I didn't fall asleep until 3:00 a.m. Sunday, I went to church and called Tarzan after Welfare Meeting. No answer . I called him after Sacrament Meeting. No answer . He should be coming home

Tarzan Speaks

As we watched this historical moment unfold before our eyes in the comfort of our home, Sandi and I both regressed mentally thinking about people who mean a lot to us, some of whom are no longer here: my mother, who passed away just this summer, my grandfather, Sandi’s father, grandparents, and mother, our children, and our grandchildren. Sandi and I have an interracial marriage. We don’t see things as black and white, but we often discuss them as black and white. We know that this election was not about race. We know it was about greatness and a movement toward change in Washington. We have vowed to support President Elect Obama, not as a black man or white woman or an interracial couple, but as Americans with common problems and common hopes. We appreciate the fact that we now have a new, great thinker for our next Commander In Chief, and as an extra point of appreciation for us, he is a black man in a world where we thought there was a limit to what a black man could accomplish. The

Two interesting things

A sad thing While driving home last night, we listened to a radio piece on NPR about hate crimes against people who have stickers on their cars for Obama/Biden. We have a magnet on our car. It was a sad choice for us to remove our magnet to insure our safety. We decided not to put our opinion literally on the street, but to keep it in our conversation, on our blog and in our vote. Isn't that sad? Since we have double jeopardy being a mixed race couple and having the magnet, it was a hard choice, but one we took seriously. On a lighter note. Today, I stopped by the UPS Store to pick up a package and I was so excited, not knowing what it was. It had "Longaberger" stamped on the outside of the box. I thought, "Someone bought me a basket. How great." I couldn't think who it was or why they would be buying me a Longaberger basket -- no birthdays, no holidays, hmmmmmm. I threw it in the car unopened because I was going to be late for work. At a stop light, the cur

Kewl Little Giveaway

Here is a great contest by a really good photographer, see if you can enter and win. Go see some of her kewl pictures.

Columbus Day Weekend

Squirrel hunting —two words I never thought would come out of my mouth in reference to my weekend activities, but there you go, I said it. Friday, we drove up to Springerville, Arizona to stay in my Mom’s house before she had it winterized. Tarzan went with his new sidekick Toy—“Me hunt squirrel” I asked if he was going to hunt “moose and squirrel” with the appropriate Russian accent—he didn’t think it was funny. The wind blew, the rain fell and still Tarzan and sidekick hunted with dog in tow. I slept in until 10:00 a.m. read my book, went to the drug store (Oh, if you are not from Springerville you can’t appreciate that comment—I went to the drug store—if you want to find something to spend your money on, they have it at Western Drug. They have everything you could ever want there from hunting paraphernalia to fabric, ribbons and patterns along with all the other drug store type stuff you would ever want. It is amazing.) They shot 5 squirrel between them. Tarzan gutted, cleaned and p

This Week’s Events

Lousy : Wrecked car 2 weeks ago Good : Tarzan found a used Lexus that we could afford Lousy : Someone threw large cement pavers through the double paned, tinted sliding glass doors at our rental property the day before the renters were to move in Good : Insurance paid for it Lousy : They stole all the light fixtures and ceiling fans we had ready to be installed. Good : Insurance paid for it Lousy : The renters in our other rental property had marital problems and changed their minds about renting from us Good : They forfitted their deposit Lousy : No renters Good : New renters the next day for $100 more Lousy : Tarzan put the first dent in the Lexus Good : I still love him

Men and Their Toys

Have you ever been working with a man and had him freeze in his tracks because you asked him a question about something that he had not been thinking about? Did he become incapable of working and sputter, “uh, uh” and get a little irritated? Have you ever been working with a man, while he tried to get a piece of big-fancy equipment to work so he could blow out the leaves from the porch, and you got the broom and swept the area clean before he could get it going, and then he was disappointed that he didn’t get to use his blower? Have you ever been working with a man, while he was trying to get a sprayer to work so he could spray an even layer of cleanser on the refrigerator you are cleaning up, and you got a bucket of water and a bottle of spray cleaner, and cleaned it before he could get his sprayer to work? What is with guys and their need to have “the right tool do to the job?”

Good Things Happen To Me

It’s not very fun to write about the good stuff, but I have to say that good things have been coming my way. Here are a few of them. The doctor who charged me $50 for a no-show when my car wouldn’t start took the charge off my account I wrecked my car and have been driving a rental--the rental company gave me a free upgrade We found a wonderful painter who is not overcharging me We found a carpet layer who is great and did not overcharge us We found a laborer who is strong and grateful to have work so we can afford him as well We have rented all of our rental property I did not get a lung infection this time when I had my recent allergy attack The dog is housebroken We found a great place to buy appliances new and used I love the classes I am teaching My grandchildren e-mail me every day We have money in the bank Tarzan and I really like each other Direct TV gave me Showtime free for 3 months I find life solutions in the Book of Mormon I have lost 6 pounds

A fun hour

Image
I saw this on Lindsey ’s blog (she is my cousin’s daughter) and thought it would be a great way to spend an hour. And, since Lindsey was so kind as to share the instructions for how to create this gem, I thought I would follow suit. Now you too can make a photo mosaic all about YOU! How to: a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search. b. Using only the first page, pick an imagen (I browsed, lots of pictures not just the first page). c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker . d. Copy the mosaic image (right click, save image as -- or just drag image to desktop) to your computer. e. Upload image to blog and voila! Here are the questions: 1. What is your first name? Sandi 2. What is your favorite food? Tacos 3. What high school did you go to? St. Johns 4. What is your favorite color? Red 5. Who is your celebrity crush? Brad Pitt (lame, I know) 6. Favorite drink? Virgin Margarita 7. Dream vacation? Italy 8. Favorite dessert? Peach

Thank you!

We seem to go through life just doing what we do, trying to be contributing member to society and not expecting any recognition for it. However, every once in awhile, someone says "thank you" and it feels so good. This week I had two thank you's, the first has a funny story (of course, nothing happens to me without a funny story, right?) Sunday night I was home alone and I had Dottie in the house with me. She was sleeping under my desk and I was working on grading papers when I heard someone knock rather loud on the kitchen door. I was expecting Tarzan to come home and figured he had his hands full and needed me to open the door for him. I went to the door and yelled out--"who is it?" NO ANSWER . I got a little spooked and peaked out the window-- NO ONE THERE . I looked out the front window-- NO ONE THERE . Yikes, now I was really spooked. Dottie was running around in a panic feeling my emotions. I turned OFF all the lights in the house and turned ON all the l

How sad...

It is so sad that there are still people in this world who cannot see past the color of your skin. We recently had a business person give us a quote for some work we needed done. When the quote was too high, we looked for another alternative to get the work done. When he did not hear back from us, he send us a rude e-mail accusing us fo using him and wasting his time. He has never met me, only Tarzan and in the e-mail he said among other things---"I am use to working with white people that have integrity, not random ghetto acts of 'take advantage of whomever, whenever.'" What a huge dissappointment to have someone be so small and unthinking that they can say such cruel words with no remorse.

I pray for good things to happen to me.

I pray for good things to happen to me. I was in a wreck; the other guy was on the phone, and would not stay for the police. The good thing: I have insurance and they consider it a no-fault accident and will cover everything, including a rental car. It will only cost me the $500 deductible. I pray for good things to happen to me. We took the trash to the Gila Bend dump and drove the trailer over the edge and cut a big gash in the trailer tire. The good thing: It was going to cost us $150 to get a new one, but Tarzan talked the guy into $32. I pray for good things to happen to me. Tarzan has been the victim of identity theft. The good thing: The government has put in place a path to follow to get it corrected. I pray for good things to happen to me. I have had a migraine for two days. The good thing: This only happens a couple of times a year, it used to happen twice a month. I pray for good things to happen to me.

Camping with Tarzan and the Boyz

Image
This weekend I realized, that I do not just casually experience life. Rather, I see events. I see big happy occasions, and devastating sad occasions. I see happy things as more than passing moments, but stories to tell, stupid things as funny or irritating and story worthy. I also see the actions of others as great or even pitiful. With that said, let me tell you about fishing with Tarzan and the boyz. I had a headache for three days last week and needed some true down time, when I didn’t think about (in alphabetical order) car trouble, children, church, cleaning house, dogs, etc., grandchildren, health, heat, money, redecorating, rental property, work. Tarzan was going fishing with the boyz this weekend, so I asked if I could go. I said, “I either need to go away with you this weekend or I need to get a hotel and watch old movies while I eat ice cream and pizza.” He said I could go. I went out to get in the truck after packing up a few things, putting together four meals to cook for t

Do you know what this is?

Image
After the big rains we had over the past week, I went down the hill this morning and saw these strange creatures growing up along the edge of our property. Any idea what they are? The only thing I am sure of is that they don't look like mushrooms.

Catch that water drip

Image
I was at Sharon's desk and she had a Starbucks Plastic cup with the cutest crocheted holder on it to catch that liquid that runs all over your desk when you have a cold glass of any liquid. She told me her grandmother crocheted it and she has not been able to duplicate the pattern. I told her I could get the pattern off of it and she carefully put it in a plastic bag and gave it to me to take just over night. I was able to get the pattern and made one last night for my Fresh and Easy water bottle. Isn't it cute? I am going to make one the size of a soda can next. Here it is, I L-O-V-E it. My hand didn't get cold while I held my Ginger Ale to drink it.

Some Days You Should Stay In Bed

Had a day off. Had scheduled doctor appointments throughout the day. Went outside and got in the car to go. It would not start. AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!! Called the first doctor, no problem, rescheduled Called the second doctor, no problem, rescheduled Called the third doctor, Dr. Bruce Sand, they are charging me $50 for a no show even though I called them 4 hours in advance and explained why I couldn't make it. I didn't bother to reschedule, I will just find another oncologist. I don't think they have a legal right to charge me since I have signed nothing stating I know about this policy and was not told about it when I made the appointment. Went to pick up our 300ZX and it wasn't ready, after 3 weeks Paid $1,100 for repair work done so far Drove it home, not running any better Had repairman lined up to do work in rental property in Gila Bend Gave us quote for inside house and outside house Outside quote was too high He refused to do inside work unless we also

Updating My Knowledge of What is Going on in the Teenage World

I am not a text messager, however, I just learned these great codes from my granddaughter, Maddison. So, be listening for them in conversation with me. tma : Typical Mormon Answer- going to church, reading your scriptures, saying your prayers,ect. pmb : Perfect Mormon Boy- a common phrase used at girls camp. ilgp : I love girls camp- I love girls camp ctr : choose the right- I'm sure you knew that one. sfmc : Shopping For Modest Clothing- long sleeves, pants that go down to your knees ect.

Bucking for the Domestic goddess Award - Part 3

Peaches We bottled peaches, but it is not near as thrilling to show the process. So, let me just tell you about the adventure. I got everything in place. Tarzan started the water boiling to process the bottled peaches on the stove outside on the patio. Inside, the first batch of peaches went into boiling water for a couple of minutes and then quickly dipped into ice water. The peel came off just as it should and I took my little pairing knife and cut the beautiful peach in half and -- Oh no! -- they were not cling free peaches. The fruit would not come off the pit. Yuck! By the time I got all the peelings off and the fruit cut into slices (There was no other way to work with the fruit without mangling it) I had a sticky mess in my kitchen. Meanwhile, Tarzan is outside gleefully working in the yard waiting to put the bottles of peaches into the boiling water. I mixed the syrup for the peaches, 3 cups water 2 cups sugar, brought it to a boil, poured it over the peaches, wiped off

Bucking for the Domestic goddess Award - Part 2

Image
Prickly Pear Jelly First, you should be sure you have a Tarzan to pick the fruit, it's not called Prickly Pear for nothing. The little white dots on the fruit is cactus prickles. Use tongs and stand back from the cactus. These cactus are in our front yard. Next, you will prepare the fruit. I didn't get all the pictures for that step. Tarzan does this first part and I had to leave to run an errand while he was doing it. But this is what you do. Wash the fruit--handle it with tongs. Rub the fruit on the bottom of the sink to remove the prickles. Then you cut the fruit in quarters and boil it for 10 minutes. You can remove the seeds if you like, we don't bother to do that. Then put the fruit into a cheese cloth and squeeze the juice out into bowls. Tarzan tells me he strains it 3 times. First, he uses a potato masher and smashes it into a mush, then he puts it through a collander, then he puts it through a wire strainer and finally he puts it through the cheese cloth. I am put

Bucking for Domestic goddess Award - Part 1

Image
Tarzan and I saw the familiar little sign on the side of the road, "Okra for Sale." So we drove down the country road to a house and the farmer (whose financial situation has improved from our bussiness for a few years now) let us in. We bought all he had picked and all of his cherry tomatoes. Yum. Now, what? I reached back in the recesses of my mind and searched the Internet for quantities and we pickled and froze okra. Frozen Okra is the easiest so I will tell you how to do that first. You should remember this-- okra doesn't get slimy until you cut it open , so whole okra is the only way to go. Get your deep pot and fill it with salty water Bring it to a boil Drop a bunch of okra into the boiling water and let it boil for 3 minutes Remove the okra from the water and place it in single layers on large flat cookie sheets and freeze it Once it is frozen, place it in freezer safe Ziplock bags Oh yeah, and put it back in the freezer When you are ready to cook it, simply put

I am blessed

I feel the need to write this personal note. During the time that I have been Relief Society President, I have had the privilege of working with the most awesome women, as counselors, secretaries, teachers and other leaders. The entire time I have been in this position, I have been richly blessed. Today we had our presidency meeting and I felt the Spirit so strong there. Our secretary, Shannon Taylor-Hutchinson, carefully invited the Spirit to be with us and then each of us in turn contributed to the meeting. Our Enrichment Counselor, Kim Butler, has put together an awesome program for the month of September with great ideas for activities that will serve the sisters well. They are activities that will give the sisters a reason to come and to bring a friend. Our Education Counselor , Amberly Robinson, has the most clear thinking ability. She is able to clearly identify something that needs to be addressed and offer concrete suggestions on how to handle things. She both gives an

You Are An ENFJ

Image
I always find it interesting to take these tests and see how I come out. I consistently fall in the same category. There is something inside me that needs affirmation. My personality test says I am an extravert, my insides say, I am shy and a loner. That is weird. But, then you look at my Thinking Pattern test and you see that I am a “concrete” and “random” thinker. I guess that says it all. I have made a few comments in orange. The Giver You strive to maintain harmony in relationships, and usually succeed. Emphasis on the "usually." Articulate and enthusiastic, you are good at making personal connections. Sometimes you idealize relationships too much - and end up being let down. Oh, so true. I live in a dream world a lot of the time. You find the most energy and comfort in social situations ... where you shine. This surprises me, I don't view myself this way. In love, you are very protective and supporting. However, you do need to "feel special" - and it'

Reading list

I stole this from Monique Fullmer:"I read on another blog that the average adult has read only 6 out of 100 of the following books! (I don't know if those stats are true, but I guess it doesn't matter)." I Googled 100 books you should read and got 13,500,000 hits. I guess there are a lot of different opinions on which books should be on the list. I have highlighted those I have read (49 in all). Some many years ago. How many of these have you read? 1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (awesome - one of my favorite) 2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (I love SciFi) 3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (great book) 4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling 5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (Excellent read, great life lessons and the movie is wonderful) 6. The Bible (once from cover to cover) 7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (I bet I read this a dozen times in high school) 8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (totally kewl book) 9. His Dark Materials - Philip

Harris Morley's Baptism

Image
This weekend our grandson, Harris Morley, got baptized. Tarzan and I got to attend in Texas. We love Harris. He has an insatiable curiosity for life. He is smiling all the time. Harris has a tender heart and when you visit him, he is always sad when you leave. After the baptism, we all sat around and talked about memories. It was fun and the meal Tori and Bob cooked was awesome. Two of Harris’ friends were being baptized on the same day. I didn’t think to get a picture of all of them together. I have to get better at this picture taking thing. Here are the fun pictures I got. Remember, I never wait for posing. Tarzan, Grandi and Harris, the official picture. New Suit, new shirt, new tie, new shoes, Wow. Tarzan is loosening up for the teasing to start (with Maddison and Amber). My sister is on the left, Tarzan is talking to Maddison. The other man is their home teacher. Now, there is a series of pictures of Harris, being Harris. See the twinkle in his eyes? After the baptism, Maddiso