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Showing posts from 2009

My Life is One Big Drama and I Love it

Sunday morning I attended Welfare Meeting. Between Welfare and Sacrament Meeting, I was standing in the hall and a man, all dressed in white, came running in with a small 4-year old boy in tow. He came up to me and said, "Is this the place where they have church for children?" I told him we did have a meeting for children and he replied, "Good, then I will leave him here. What time do you finish so I can come and pick him up?" I said--in total shock--"We finish at noon." He replied that he would return at noon and leaned over to the boy and say "Give me a kiss mija." The boy gave him a kiss and he left with me standing there in charge of a strange 4-year old boy I knew nothing about. I took his hand and told him to stay with me, asked his name (Damon) and introduced him to the Primary President, Sister Faller. We went to Sacrament meeting together and, being the good grandma that I am, I had candy in my purse to entertain him. Sister McFall a

Pre-Holiday joy

Tamales homemade by Jackie Harrison. I'm in the holiday spirit now.

I do not sweat--Recent Monday Memory

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You remember Papa's Grow Sticks ? Of course you do, how could you forget something so important to me? Well, we finally found a lumber source in Springerville, Arizona. They custom cut them for us and every stick is from a forest conservation project so we are not not only made in the USA, we are green. This is Charlie, he is loading 700 pieces of lumber into the pickup we rented for the trip. That's a lot of lumber. We are going to be very busy. See how neatly it is stacked. Whoa, it looks a little crooked. Watch out Tarzan... Do you think that pickup can hold a load like this? Tarzan looks a little worried. Those straps are ingenious. We thought we were going to have to unbundle it to get it in the truck. Up-se-daisy Going doeoeoeown...See Charlie standing up to be sure it goes in the bed of the truck? And in it goes, we made it... Tarzan is guiding it along... Notice the wheel well... Whoa, that is one heavy load. Not much space left in the wheel well. Tarzan and Cha

I'll be back from time to time

School has started and I am now in full swing with 200 students--yes I said two hundred. That means I have 200 papers to grade every week besides working full time, being Relief Society President and making Grow Sticks every day. Blogging must wait. See ya now and then.

Tell me your story...see medical note at bottom

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My friend and I have been laughing at our stupid behavior when visiting with different doctors and the stupid behavior of doctor’s offices and insurance companies and we are wondering if there are others who have stories to tell. If you have an interesting story, please email it to me… grandberry at gmail dot com. So, I went to the dermatologist to have a full body skin exam. There are a few things I’m concerned about that could be melanomas. There I am totally naked in the doctor’s office (except that silly little paper thing they give you) and he is doing the exam. Me: I have had this bump on my arm that won’t go away and it has changed colors. I've had it for four months. Doctor: That’s normal, probably a bug bite WHAT I DON’T SAY BUT WANT TO: Are you crazy, a bug bit that lasts four months? That can’t be normal. Me: I have these bumps on my scalp and my hair dresser tells me they look like moles (I find one and tell him where to look, he doesn ’t touch it or part my hair to g

Courage--Thursday Thought

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"Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it with use." Ruth Gordon ____________________________________________________________________________________ You will recognize her best from this picture She also looked like this

Smiles--What I Saw Wednesday

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I saw SteveE crossed eyed with one eye. He didn't know he could do that. I saw myself crosseyed with one eye, I've never seen myself do that, kind of hard to see your self when one of your eyes is looking left and one is not. I saw Tarzan with one lense missing in his sunglasses and he didn't know it. When I pointed it out, he said "I wondered why everything looked so funny." Then he spend severl minutes wondering how long it had been that way and why no one had told him before me. I assured him it was because I love him most of all.

Auto Pay--Tuesday Tip

It seems like such a good idea.... The companies make it so easy for you, right? Just sign up for auto pay and they will magically take money out of your bank account to pay your bill and you never have to worry about it... BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE Don't be so fast to sign up for auto pay that way. Once you do that, you lose control of the money being taken out of your account. The company can take your payment out twice, yikes, overdraft. They can continue taking money out even when you don't owe them money any more, yikes, overdraft. They can make a typo and take out too much or too little, yikes, over draft and late fees. The experts say the better way to do this is to set up the auto pay from your bank. That way you have control over the money. If you want to stop the auto pay, it is a simple matter of you canceling it on your side and not trying to get someone on the receiving end to stop it. I have wanted to stop an auto pay " immediately . Sometimes, the re

My crazy sister-Monday Memories

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My sister, Inez , is so fun. I have fond memories of playing with her when we were children. I don't recall that we argued a lot. We always shared a room and playing in there alone with her was fun. Our father was in the Air Force. We traveled all over the world and in our travels we each had a collection of something. She collected dolls. Our father made her a cabinet to put the doll collection in it was painted blue and had glass doors. We were not allowed to play with the dolls... ...that is unless we were alone in our room. We were oh so careful and soon learned we could not play with the Dresden ballerinas because the glass net on their tutus just crumbled in our hands. I wish we lived closer. Isn't she just the cutest thing? This is Inez, Mom, Tarzan, and me at the Springerville , Arizona 4 th of July parade 2008.

911

They said it for me: Becky Ree Amberly (not a 911 salute, but a reminder of why I love America) Shellie Lenn

Choice--Thursday Thought

Once you make a choice, it is your responsibility to make it the right decision. This is a loose quote of something Paton Manning said on NPR. He was specifially speaking of choosing a college to go to, namely once he chose a college, he had to work to make it the right choice. I have thought about that for awhile now and I believe that it can be extended to many other choices we make in out lives. Think about it, what choices have you made that now you have to work at to make them the right decision?

Hubble--What I Saw Wednesday

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I saw images taken by the Hubble after it was repaired by the Astronauts, so I can still say to the question, "What's up?" "The Hubble Telescope."

Envelopes--Tuesday Tip

We have long been advocates of the envelope method of budgeting. As you know, I am saving for my PhD, that is a little more than an envelope worth of money, however, the new kitchen door and security screen we want is going to cost us about $800 installed. Here is what we do... We get an envelope and put a few dollars in it every week. Both of us contribute out of our personal spending money. When we get the money saved up, we buy our doors and hire our installer. We never feel the pain of a large purchase such as that. Sometimes it takes us longer than other times, but we can always reach our goal. Once we hired a surveyor for our property, he was going to charge us $600. He finished before we had the whole $600. I got out my envelope and told him that I would give him the $400 we had saved up and the other $200 on payday. He laughed and said, "You have been saving up for this and you only have $400 in that envelope? I'll take that and call it even." I love a bar

Memorial Day--Monday Memories

I remember when I had time to relax and enjoy Memorial Day and a cookout with friends.

Wisdom--Thursday Thought

With time, we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, "My gracious, look how wise I am!" I don't know who said this, but it's mine now.

Many Things--What I Saw Wednesday

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I saw my 87 year old mother , walking sprightly up the stairs. I saw blackbirds on a fence I saw the sun on the lake I saw Tarzan wishing he had his fishing pole I saw poop on a sign. No actually I didn't see the poop until I got the picture on the computer. I saw a cool sign on a country store. I saw wood for Papa's Grow Sticks. All in all it was a glorious weekend.

Holey Joes--Tuesday Tip

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This is a silly tip...it's actually more like Tuesday Trivia, but whatever... You know those "Ineroffice Envelopes"? Like these? Welllllll, here is some funny trivia for you. These were invented by the military (of course we believe it was the Air Force that invented them). In the Air Force they are referred to as "Holey Joes." 'Cuz of those holes. Did you ever wonder why they have holes in them? Well, I just found out today from Tarzan... When the military was passing top secret information around the office in these Holey Joes, they needed to be sure there was nothing left in the envelope, thus, the holes. Isn't that kewl?

Rough Out Boots--Monday Memories

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Digger always wore black shiny , pull on work boots. Always. One year, when my brother and I were both married and living in Utah, Digger began a campaign for new boots. He would say, "Boy I sure would like some rough out boots." And then in a few days, "I have always wanted a pair of rough out boots." And so on, for about 4 or 5 months before his birthday. Digger was never one to ask for anything, so I'm sure in retrospect he was not hinting for us to buy them for him. Rather, he was talking himself into it. If you don't know it, rough out boots are brown and they have a rough leather exterior like unfinished leather. Well, not that rough, but anyway, they are not smooth and shiny . So, my brother and I went together on our struggling college budget and bought him a pair of brown rough out boots, just like his shiny black ones, only brown and rough out . We all met at his house and had lunch, then he opened his present and put the brand new brown rough ou

Calling All Private Blogs

If you have or want me in your private blog, please do this for me so I don't lose track of you. http://pensivebrenda.blogspot.com/2009/08/attention-all-private-bloggers.html My email address is grandberry at gmail dot com. Thanks

Oscar-What I Saw Wednesday

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I love Oscar... No, Tarzan is safe, he loves Oscar too... Tarzan walked outside and turned back to tell me "Oscar's back." I stepped outside and sure enough, there was Oscar just sitting by the house, like he does every spring and fall. We always muse, "Why does Oscar come up here every spring and fall?" I turned to go into the house and noticed something on the bottom of the door. I looked closely and saw a scorpion with a BODY THE SIZE OF A QUARTER . (Insert ooos and yucks here) I calmly said, "Tarzan, look at the bottom of the door." Tarzan moved quickly, and manly when he saw it. He took a broom and swept the scorpion outside and then beat the living daylights out of it. We then both -- at the same time -- (I love it when that happens) looked at Oscar and then back at the scorpion and said "oooooooooooh." (You have to say that starting low and then making your voice go up and then back down) Tarzan took the broom and swept the now deceas

Cost Per Use-Tuesday Tip

You know there is a rule of thumb on whether or not you can afford to buy the kewl thingy there in Ikea that you just have to have. It is called cost-per-use. You figure out how many times you will use the item and divide that into the cost if the item to figure your cost for a year--as an example... I had to have a fancy delux vacuum that all the young girls in the ward were talking about. So, it cost me (because I got the really fancy one) about $500. I vacuum about 150 times a year. If I have the vacuum one year, it costs me $3 each time I use it. If I keep it for 5 years, it costs me 66¢, now that makes it a bargain. However, here is a good one, you want a new blouse, it costs $50. You may wear it 10 times in a year, less if you have lots of cloths. At $5 a pop, that is an expensive blouse when you could go to a discount store like Ross and get a perfectly good blouse for maybe $10 and have that cost go down to $1 per use. If the item is not something you "use" rather som

Septic Tank--Monday Memory

I'm a city gal, at least I think of myself as a city gal. I love theater, I love sports, I love the action of downtown, I love the feel of a college campus, but... I have spent several years in the country, so maybe I'm a country gal. You be the judge... Tarzan and I had company coming early Saturday morning. Friday night the septic tank backed up. Do city gals have septic tanks? Anyway, several hours and a few dollars later, it was running again. Thanks you Shad you are the best. This reminded me of another time and another septic tank in another place where this city gal lived in the country. The places was Fruitland, New Mexico. We lived on a 2 acre farm with a septic tank. It needed to be replaced, so we hired someone to do it for us. They built it with cinder block and cement. It was all finished...a thing of beauty...the lid was not on yet and we could see that things were flowing into it as they should (sorry if that grosses you out). The next day they came to

Languishing--Thursday Thought

"Sometimes, languishing in the arms of your sweetheart for an extra half hour in the morning is the best way to start your day." Sandi Grandberry

Moving Manuer--What I Saw Wednesday

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Remember this ? Here is the tractor we moved, innocent looking isn't it? She moves with style and grace...did you ever see such a stylish hat for shoveling you know what? See how the hat is tipped slightly to give her some style? No, not turning away from the smell, backing up. In case you don't know old manure doesn't smell bad and this is OLD horse poop. Yeah, she's cool, well, not really, it's 115 ° What would Tarzan do without a good partner?

Miche Bag I have to have one

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The Park Avenue Princess is giving one of these awesome purses away. I want one so bad it is silly. This is my favorite shell Miche Bag , Utah based business, unbelieveable idea.

Committee--Tuesday Tip

If you are going to be on a committee that receives long, detailed presentations from several different experts in their field, you may need to have some caffeine to survive.

Embarrassing--Monday Memory

My most embarrassing moment happened when I was 16 years old. I was taking a speech class from Mr. Udall. He had one day a week when you could give in impromptu speech and complain about anything you wanted as long as you did not slander anyone or badmouth any individuals. It took me about three months to come up with something to say for that assignment. Finally, a couple of things began to bother me so I stood up and said (with my hands on my hips)... "I've had two things on my chest for the longest time." Mr. Udall couldn't get the class back under control and I didn't get why they were laughing. I was really hurt that everyone was making fun of me. When I did finally catch on.... one word mortified. What is your most embarrasing moment?

My PhD

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You can't see it in this itty-bitty picture, but I am at 4% of my goal. It is a life long dream of mine to get my PhD. I am a person of no particular circumstance. I do not qualify for any scholarships or grants. There is no way I will be able to pay for this education out of my meager State salary. I am going to start my PhD journey next year. My degree will be a PhD in Higher Educaton Administration. There are 6 months left to earn the money for my first year. If everyone who knows me donates $1.00 and everyone who knows them donates $1.00, I can do this. I would love to have a donation from you.

Giveaway--What I Saw Wednesday

I saw a purse I want so bad my teeth ache. I love purses . Check it out. You can buy one purse and then change its "cloths" so you have lots of purses and never move your stuff. Last Sunday I was driving without my driver's license because I changed purses and didn't move my wallet to the new purse. Did I say, "I L-O-V-E this purse ."

TV--Tuesday Tip

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"Teens who watched just 21 extra minutes of TV daily were more likely to become depressed as young adults, compared with those who watched less (2 hours and 38 minutes vs. 2 hours and 27 minutes), according to a recent study. Could it be a chicken-and-egg situation? Maybe, but research did exclude anyone who was depressed at the start. And really limiting the amount of TV anyone watches is never a bad thing." Woman's Day July 2009 When our oldest child was just 8 years old, our TV "broke" and we just never got around to fixing it. As a consequence, our children played outside, used their imaginations, learned to communicate with other family members, became readers, yes and even studied the scriptures. I highly recommend you break your TV. The first week is the hardest, the silence is deafening, but the adjustment was worth it.

Grandkids Week Aug 2009--Monday Memories

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I'm a day late, but you will understand when I tell you that I just spent one week with five of my grandchildren. I was a little busy and a little tired and had quite a bit of catching up to do. Grandkids week 1 Number of mud fights Number of splash parks visited Number of times Tarzan got a personal cool down Number of Candy Stores Visited Number of cups of glitter vacuumed up Number of successful all nighters pulled Number of 3-D movies in the theater we watched 2 Number of water fights Number of boys who got to spend 1 hour in the Apple Mac Store 4 Number of girls who got makeup Number of boxes of cereal eaten 5 Number of Harry Potter movies watched Number of meals Tarzan cooked outside for us 6 Number of huge trash bags filled 12 Number of tomatoes eaten 80+ number of paper plates used 84 Number of hours spent playing video games 100+ number of Plastic Cups used 168 Number of hours TV was on Disney Channel 174208 Highest score in Snood ??? How many times someone said “Shut the

Life can be a pain in the...

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When I was in high school I broke my tailbone . I don't recall how, but I do know that I carried around a rubber donut to sit on for about a year. It wasn't very pretty, but it got me a lot of attention :-). Anyway, we were all in Flagstaff at a music festival and I bent over a suitcase to get something and one of the girls in our room kicked me in the buttocks. Paaaaaaiiiiiiinnnnn.... However, when the pain subsided, I was fixed -- leaving my tailbone just slightly slanted out and easily bumped and bruised. Flash forward (clears throat and mumbles number of years) years. I work with this great bunch of guys. If you follow my blog, you have seen this picture before. So, we were sitting around the Perudo table playing ... don't get all pissy because we are State employees playing a game at work ... we were on our lunch break. I kept complaining that the chair I was sitting on was really uncomfortable , like a spring had broken and was sticking me in the same buttocks menti