Saying Good Bye

When I was eight years old my family moved to Boise, Idaho. We bought a big five bedroom house on Cory Lane. We had a pasture on the side and back of the property that connected to the Amidon's home. Dorothy became a close friend of my Mom's. Dorothy and her husband had five kids. The oldest, Brenda was one year older than me. I was the youngest of five and she was the oldest.

We spent much time together playing in the field, riding bikes, taking the bus to grade school, going to girls camp at Pine Top, Saturday night dances at the church, the drive in movies, and just pretty much enjoying the 1970s. Through grade school, junior high, and high school we were friends. She graduated a year before me and the next year she married Dan. This year in May they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.

I had moved away from home to attend college. We saw each other off and on when I made trips home to visit my parents. Then later when my parents had retired to St. George I would occasionally visit with her on our way to the cabin in Idaho.

The older I get the more it feels like time passes quicker. Before I knew it, it had been many years since we had seen each other. With Facebook we had reconnected, able to share family pictures of kids and grand kids.

In May this year Brenda spent three weeks in Seattle with her son and daughter in law while her son was having some medical procedures done. I was able to visit her on multiple occasions and we had a wonderful time sitting and talking.

Then on Saturday morning, July 4th I received a phone call from her daughter in law telling me that she had passed away that morning. She had lupus and health problems related to that, but it was still unexpected. How grateful I was for the gift of being able to see her in May and spend time with her. And how sad I was for the loss. She was only 58 years old.

I was able to go to Boise to attend her memorial service. It was nice to see her husband Dan and her son's families, two of her brothers, her father, and to be able to meet her sister's son. I still find it hard to believe that it's been nearly 50 years ago that my family moved into that house near hers.

At the memorial her daughter in law shared this picture with me that she found on Brenda's cell phone. Brenda must have found it recently and taken a photo of it but hadn't sent it to me. I'm guessing we were probably in high school at the time of the photo.

 

I regret that we never took a photo together during the visits we shared when she was here in May. But perhaps this is the way I'm meant to remember her. She will be greatly missed by many. Be at peace Brenda, united with your Mom and sister Ruth.

Family Time at the Cabin

Sometimes I'm amazed at how many years we've been going to the cabin for our annual family vacation. This year neither of my kids were able to be there. But as always my sister's are great at sharing their grand children.

Wally and I drove Saturday morning stopping frequently. Our favorite lunch spot for many years has been The Smokehouse Restaurant in La Grande, Oregon. Funny thing is though, we usually order breakfast for lunch. Wally discovered their giant hotcakes one year. But this year he passed on the hotcakes.

We then continued on to spend the night in Boise at my sister Sue's house. Before dinner I usually get a quick dip in the pool which always feels great after our 500 mile drive.

This time on Sunday morning, instead of heading directly to the cabin we were able to meet my niece Serene and her family for breakfast. It also happened to be Father's Day. She lives in Sacramento and her and her husband Scott have two children whom I had never met before. Seneca just recently turned 2 and Levi at the time was about 5 months old. They brought along some in-laws and we had a very fun visit. They were on their way to Canada for vacation. We had breakfast in Meridian at The Griddle. It was very good.

Sunday we drove to the cabin stopping in Rexburg to drop some items off to a young couple from her Mom her in Kent. We arrived at the cabin after Sue and Dennis. Later that evening we were joined by John, Sarah, Ethan and Austin.

Everyone else arrived on Tuesday, or was it Wednesday? This year we had Becky, David, Joe, Nikki, Tristan, Kali, Taylor, Nancy, Emily, Scott, Sue, Dennis, John, Sarah, Ethan, Austin, Wally and me. The big focus for the week was building a deck on the lake side of the condo. It was fun watching the progress and so many people helping out. We got to take family pictures on the deck before everyone headed home.

It was the first time in a long time we had all five of us kids together. And as always we ate well with everyone pitching in. I have to say breakfast is probably my favorite meal at the cabin. It's cooked on the grill, bacon, eggs, pancakes, fish, potatoes. It was always delicious, cooked mostly by John and Sue. Dave even made us sourdough crepes with berries one morning. Delicious. And of course we had caramel corn one evening.

We adjusted to the fact the younger generation enjoys their electronic games. And it was cute to see them sitting together so focuses. We had fun playing Rummikub which always makes me think of my Mom playing that with the grandkids.

The weather was very hot this year. There were mosquitos and there were bug bites. There were some fish caught. Most of us went home on Saturday morning. I missed seeing the moose across the water that morning. Sue and Dennis stayed another week and enjoyed the 4th of July fireworks from the deck.

Wally and I decided to drive home on I-90. We went to Ennis and had a great breakfast including Indian fry bread with honey butter. It was a very hot drive home. Each time we stopped to take a break or get gas we were blasted with heat. It was actually 112 degrees in Wallace, Idaho where we stopped for a late lunch of burgers.

When we got to Spokane and it was only 5 pm we decided to just keep driving to get home. I can't believe I drove 750 miles in one day. It was a long stretched out day with lots of stops and walking around. It was another great family vacation at the cabin.

Oh, and I won a quilt and Natalie won the other quilt!

Austin

Found a food truck at the laundry mat that sells Indian Fry Bread Tacos!

Emily and her fish!

Taco Bar Night

Grandma Becky with Taylor

Kali

Ethan and Tristan

Five

Five. The number of pairs of shoes I feel the need to take with me on vacation. There are the tan sandals I'm wearing on the road trip, the flip flops for around the cabin, my grounding flip flops to walk around outside, my old, comfortable black Lands End slip on shoes and my gym shoes. To be exact I'm packing a 6th pair, which is a cute pair of blue sandals that I never wear that I'm hoping to give away to someone.

Normally I could get out of town with 4 pairs of shoes, but I'm splurging this time. That's the advantage to driving and having plenty of room.

Tomorrow we head to Boise on our annual trip to the cabin at Henry's Lake. Wally and I have been going since we moved to Washington State in 1988. We always go the last week in June which was when my kids got out of school. Everyone else was out of school weeks earlier. School would end on Wednesday or Thursday and we'd leave town on Saturday.

The first day we drive to Boise and spend the night at my sister's home. There we load more items in the back of the truck to help haul over to the cabin.

This year Sunday is Father's Day. I'm luck enough to get to meet up with my niece who is in Idaho on her way to Canada on vacation. She has a 5 month old and almost two year old that I'll be meeting for the first time. Needless to say I'm very excited.

This has been a busy couple of months. I'm happy to report for the most part we are packed and ready to go in the morning. The only thing I haven't been able to find is Wally's National Park Pass. That let's the car he's in get into the park for free. We last used it in December and I looked in my old purses and have no idea where it is. We generally don't go into the park much anymore, but it would be nice to have it.

I watered my orchids tonight and set the blinds just so in their room. I can only hope the house doesn't get overly warm being closed up tight.

Pictures and stories upon my return.

Here is a photo from last year.

Sister's Trip April 2015

 

Flowers at Temple Square

April 22nd, I flew into Salt Lake City. Natalie picked me up at the airport. We had lunch outside on the patio at The Oasis Café. Natalie then dropped me off near City Center where I walked around downtown, took pictures, visited Temple Square, bought a Subway sandwich for a disabled vet and enjoyed the sunshine.

 
From downtown I took the Trax train out to Sandy to visit with my friend Susan. Susan and I met in college. It was either 1975 or 1976. We also shared an apartment for a little while before I married my first husband.

It was a lot of fun visiting with her and Roy. We hadn't seen each other for a couple of years. We had some good laughs about growing up and caring for our older husbands, about doctor appointments and failing eye sight.
 
In the afternoon she took me over to Natalie's new house. They had just picked up the keys two days earlier. The moving van was in the drive way. We got a tour of the house and kept out of the way of the movers.

 
Then Natalie and I went to pick up my cousin Russell and the three of us went out to dinner at Mimi's. We had a nice visit. After taking Russell home Natalie and I headed to Nancy's house in Springville. Sue and Becky had driven down from Boise earlier in the day.
 


Emily marker-painted these great shoes for me. She's so talented.

At Nancy's, Emily gave Natalie a hair cut then Natalie headed back home to Salt Lake.

 

We spent Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at Nancy's house. Becky and I shared the lovely new queen size air mattress on the living room floor and Sue had the couch. We stayed up every night until about 1 a.m.

 

I don't remember which movies we watched which nights, but here are the movies I can remember; Larry Crowne (which we referred all weekend to as Russell Crowe), St. Vincent (loved this one), Guardians of the Galaxy, some random Lifetime movie with Kevin Sorbo and maybe one or two others. I'd have to ask Emily.

We did our usual spring cleaning, laundry, visiting, reading, took fun pictures, ate well and just had a really good time together. We stayed really busy but found time to sit and relax and visit. I think we have finally learned to pace ourselves, well almost.

We do have one brother in the family. He is second to the oldest.

 

 
 



We had a visit from an old friend we grew up with in Boise, Judy Hulet Fluckiger. That was so much fun catching up with her and hearing all about her family. I don't think I'd seen her in like 35 years! Russell stopped by with Sherrie, Kent and their daughter that just graduated from BYU.

We were able to get a box of cookies sent to Nathan in the MTC just days before he flew to Poland.

Sunday morning we drove in Sue's car to Natalie's house. They got the tour of the house then they headed home to Boise. Then my friend Loretta came over for a visit. She used to live here in Kent but moved back to Salt Lake a couple of years ago after she retired.

I spent the rest of the day with Natalie and Scott. What fun we had shopping and playing and eating. We had lunch at a burger place called The Habit Burger Grill. It was so good and there are rumors we're getting one in Kent.

Then we went to a sporting goods store called Scheels. Boy was that ever a fun experience. We walked in and there was a Ferris wheel in the center of the store. Or as I kept mistakenly calling it, a roller coaster. Tickets cost 1.00 and soon Natalie and I were in a seat. And then it rocked and we screamed, loudly. Then we had to wait as it moved slowly loading and unloading everyone.

Once the ride got going I remembered that I don't like Ferris wheels. Only every time I talked about it, it came out as roller coaster. That made us laugh, and loudly. So much that the little boy in the seat in front of us kept turning around to look at us. Scott was lucky enough to capture this photo of us.

 And then we captured this selfie as we were laughing.

 And then as the Ferris wheel ride was coming to an end and they were slowly letting the people out, we thought we could sit back and relax. We were wrong. Two cars before our turn to get out our car rocked again and we screamed, again. By the time it was our turn to get out the high school boy had been very entertained. As we stepped out I said, "you did that on purpose, didn't you?" He just smiled and handed us two tokens for another ride saying since he scared us we should get another ride. We almost didn't take the tokens. But I told Natalie I'd keep mine and write on it, "I rode the Ferris Wheel, I can do Anything!"

Here are some other fun pictures from the sporting goods store.

Natalie told me to pick them up! Then we saw how funny that looked.

 

From the sporting goods store we went to Ikea and Bed, Bath and Beyond looking for things for the new house. We went back to the house before heading out to dinner on the way to the airport. We had dinner in downtown Salt Lake at Maxwell's. It was really, really good. I had pasta and they had a really big pizza. Then I was dropped off at the airport for my flight home.

 

It was yet another perfect trip to Utah spending time with my daughter and son-in-law, my sisters, niece and nephew and visiting with friends and cousins. I did miss out on not seeing my son's family with the grand baby this trip. Which only means there will be a trip to Southern Utah in my near future.

 

Making Progress

I've recently been able to open up my 10 lb. and 15 lb. incentive envelopes. Sometimes I forget it's my own money that is providing the goodies. It's a lot of fun. And I'm very glad I wrote notes to myself.

For the 10 lb. envelope Natalie included a DSW gift card and a Kohl's gift card.

I bought some really cute beige shoes with the gift card, a 10.00 coupon and some extra cash.





At Kohl's I bought my first Kitchen Aid mixer. It was on sale, I had a 30% coupon and a 25.00 gift card, plus a 30.00 mail in rebate. I was happy with what I paid for it. And to top that off they gave me Kohl's cash to spend this week! It's still in the box but will get used this week.

For the 15 lb. incentive envelope I received a Barnes and Noble gift card which I promptly loaded to my online account. I like to buy Nook books to read at the gym.

I still have 3 envelopes to go, 20 lb., 25 lb. and 30 lb. I'm taking it slow and steady hoping to make it permanent.

Do you have a fitness goal this year you are working on? Do you need to refocus on that goal? Now's the time to do it.

It's the Little Things in Life

On my cookbook shelf above my kitchen sink sits these little white swans.



I have been known to place a ring around one of the swan heads while doing dishes. I like to see these and be reminded of the time I bought them. When I look at them they remind me of my Mom and Dad.

Sometime after my parents retired, they bought a small house in Washington, Utah, just outside St. George. Living in Washington state with all the rain in the winter time, I decided that visiting my Mom and Dad for a weekend in February was a great idea.

On one of my visits, my parents and I stopped at a garage sale (no surprise there). It was at the garage sale that I saw these cute little nested swans. They are actually measuring cups. I bought them, packed them in my suitcase and brought them home. I don't remember what year that was.

My Father passed away in June of 1998, so I'm guessing these were purchased in 1997 or
1998.

It's the sweet, little things in life that sometimes have a lot of meaning and hold a lot of memories. Look for the little things and find joy in them.

That's Entertainment

My husband and I listen to the radio while eating dinner in the evenings. Sometimes a song comes on that we either don't recognize or one that we really like. We get curious about the artist so I get my cell phone and I Shazam it. (I'm pretty sure Shazam has just become a verb.) That will bring up the song title, artist and many times the lyrics.

It's surprising to me how catchy a song can be and I can listen to it over and over thinking how great it is. Until we look up the lyrics. I was laughing as I was reading them out loud the other night to my husband.

It would be interesting to observe a song writer at work. I had no idea how many times the chorus is repeated in a song, with most songs only lasting a little over 3 minutes long.

I'm grateful for the innocence of my youth when I listened to the music of the 70s but really had no idea they were talking so much about drugs.

Two songs I like that we recently looked up were Uptown Funk (Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars and Sugar by Maroon 5. They just sound a little funny when you read them out loud. Enjoy!

Uptown Funk Lyrics

 

Doh
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh
Doh doh doh, doh duh (Aaaaaaow!)

This hit
That ice cold
Michelle Pfeiffer
That white gold
This one, for them hood girls
Them good girls
Straight masterpieces
Stylin', while
Livin' it up in the city
Got Chucks on with Saint Laurent
Gotta kiss myself I'm so pretty

I'm too hot (hot damn)
Called a police and a fireman
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Make a dragon wanna retire, man
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Say my name you know who I am
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Am I bad 'bout that money
Break it down

Girls hit you hallelujah (whuoo)
Girls hit you hallelujah (whuoo)
Girls hit you hallelujah (whuoo)
'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to you
'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to you
'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to you
Saturday night and we in the spot
Don't believe me, just watch (Come on)

Doh
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)

Don't believe me, just watch

Doh
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)

Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Hey, hey, hey, oh!

Stop
Wait a minute
Fill my cup put some liquor in it
Take a sip, sign a check
Julio! Get the stretch!
Ride to Harlem, Hollywood, Jackson, Mississippi
If we show up, we gon' show out
Smoother than a fresh jar o' Skippy

I'm too hot (hot damn)
Called a police and a fireman
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Make a dragon wanna retire, man
I'm too hot (hot damn) (hot damn)
Bitch, say my name you know who I am
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Am I bad 'bout that money
Break it down

Girls hit your hallelujah (whuoo)
Girls hit your hallelujah (whuoo)
Girls hit your hallelujah (whuoo)
'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to you
'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to you
'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to you
Saturday night and we in the spot
Don't believe me, just watch (come on)

Doh
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)

Don't believe me, just watch

Doh
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)

Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Hey, hey, hey, oh!

Before we leave
Let me tell y'all a lil' something
Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up
I said Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up

Come on, dance
Jump on it
If you sexy then flaunt it
If you freaky then own it
Don't brag about it, come show me
Come on, dance
Jump on it
If you sexy then flaunt it
Well it's Saturday night and we in the spot
Don't believe me, just watch (come on)

Doh
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)

Don't believe me, just watch

Doh
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)

Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Don't believe me, just watch
Hey, hey, hey, oh!

Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up (say whaa?!)
Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up (say whaa?!)
Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up (say whaa?!)
Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up
Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up (say whaa?!)
Uptown Funk you up
Aaaaaaow! 

Songwriters
BHASKER, JEFF / GALLASPY, DEVON / LAWRENCE, PHILLIP / RONSON, MARK / MARS, BRUNO / WILLIAMS, NICHOLAUS

Published by
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, IMAGEM U.S. LLC

 

 "Sugar"

I'm hurting, baby, I'm broken down
I need your loving, loving
I need it now
When I'm without you
I'm something weak
You got me begging, begging
I'm on my knees

I don't wanna be needing your love
I just wanna be deep in your love
And it's killing me when you're away, ooh, baby,
'Cause I really don't care where you are
I just wanna be there where you are
And I gotta get one little taste

Sugar
Yes, please
Won't you come and put it down on me?
I'm right here, 'cause I need
Little love and little sympathy
Yeah, you show me good loving
Make it alright
Need a little sweetness in my life
Sugar
Yes, please
Won't you come and put it down on me?

My broken pieces
You pick them up
Don't leave me hanging, hanging
Come give me some
When I'm without ya
I'm so insecure
You are the one thing, one thing
I'm living for

I don't wanna be needing your love
I just wanna be deep in your love
And it's killing me when you're away, ooh, baby,
'Cause I really don't care where you are
I just wanna be there where you are
And I gotta get one little taste

Sugar
Yes, please
Won't you come and put it down on me?
I'm right here,
'cause I need
Little love and little sympathy
Yeah, you show me good loving
Make it alright
Need a little sweetness in my life
Sugar! (Sugar!)
Yes, please (Yes, please)
Won't you come and put it down on me?

Yeah
I want that red velvet
I want that sugar sweet
Don't let nobody touch it
Unless that somebody's me
I gotta be a man
There ain't no other way
'Cause girl you're hotter than a southern California day

I don't wanna play no games
I don't gotta be afraid
Don't give me all that shy shit
No make-up on
That's my

Sugar
Yes, please
Won't you come and put it down on me (down on me!)?
I'm right here (right here), 'cause I need ('cause I need)
Little love and little sympathy
So, baby, you show me good loving
Make it alright
Need a little sweetness in my life
Sugar! (Sugar!)
Yes, please (Yes, please)
Won't you come and put it down on me?

Sugar
Yes, please
Won't you come and put it down on me?
I'm right here, 'cause I need
Little love and little sympathy
Yeah, you show me good loving
Make it alright
Need a little sweetness in my life
Sugar
Yes, please
Won't you come and put it down on me?

Songwriters
POSNER, MIKE / KASHER HINDLIN, JACOB / LEVINE, ADAM / GOTTWALD, LUKASZ / COLEMAN, JOSHUA / CANALE, PEDRO

Published by
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

 

in-cen-tives

Merriam-Webster defines incentive as "something that encourages a person to do something or to work harder, something that incites or has a tendency to incite to determination or action".

Synonyms:

boost, encouragement, goad, impetus, impulse, incitation, incitement, instigation, momentum, motivation, provocation, spur, stimulant, stimulus.

 

Turns out I need some encouragement, incitement, momentum and motivation in my life. Especially when it comes to my efforts to lose weight. So I created my own incentive plan.

It starts with a goal. My goal for now is to lose 30 pounds. In previous weight loss attempts the first 10 pounds is a worthy goal. For my incentive plan I broke it up into the number of pounds lost. It starts with 10 lbs., then for every 5 lbs. after that I receive an incentive envelope.

There are a total of 5 envelopes. My original plan is to hit 10 lbs., maintain the 10 lb. loss for 2 weeks then reward myself with the contents of the envelope. However, as I'm getting close to the first incentive of 10 lbs. and for how hard I've worked, I may forego the two weeks of waiting, we'll see.

What is inside the envelopes you ask? Well, it starts with a note to my future self. It's like a vision statement for how I see myself in my future. I praise myself, I acknowledge the struggles I may be having and I offer myself words of encouragement.

Stimulus and incitement is the goal. Also, inside each envelope is a surprise for me. I involved my daughter in this incentive plan by providing her the envelopes and an amount of cash. Her job was to divvy up the cash anyway she wanted and fill the incentive envelopes with gift cards, cash, notes, whatever she wanted.

I provided her a list of suggestions for the gift cards. Now I have my incentive plan in place. I have the first envelope hanging on a kitchen wall as a constant reminder of my goal.

Baby steps, 10 lbs. to start, then a reward for each 5 lbs. after that. Once I hit my 30 lb. loss I will evaluate if I want to go further.

I'm close to my first envelope, I can hardly wait.

 

Avoiding Ground Hog's Day

Do you ever feel like this:  doing the same thing over and over again every day?

When my alarm goes off in the morning, all I can think about is, didn't I just do this exact same thing yesterday? I'll get up, maybe go to the gym, commute to the office, work, commute home, make dinner, clean the kitchen, watch a little TV and then get up the next day and do it all over again.

Don't get me wrong, I love routine. When I'm off my routine things just don't feel right. But sometimes I think I need to shake my routine up just a little bit. That's one thing I'm going to work on this year. I don't want that dreaded thought in my head that I'm just getting out of bed to repeat the same day I had yesterday.

Instead, I will great the new day for what it is. A brand new day. It's not yesterday and maybe today I can change things up a little bit. Maybe I try something different at the gym, maybe I listen to a new CD on the commute to work. Perhaps I eat my lunch in the cafeteria dining room instead of at my desk like I do most days.

Maybe when I get home from work I do something fun before I make dinner. We can eat dinner an hour later once in awhile. And when I feel frazzled by too many changes I just go back to my regular routine for awhile.

Instead of going to bed at night thinking, "I have to get up and do it all again tomorrow." I'll be telling myself, "I'm blessed to have tomorrow, to try something new, to make someone smile, to live another day." Each day should be a new day to look forward to, full of possibilities and challenges.

Time to face it head on, one step at a time and sometimes step off the paved path for the one less traveled. Be adventurous and embrace this moment in time.

For in the end I want it to be said of me, "she did not waste a single day by wishing it was a different day."

January 1, 2015

Just wanted to start the year off with a blog post. But I'm not really sure what I want to say. 2014 was a pretty decent year. It wasn't without it's share of issues, but we made it through. We were greatly blessed with the birth of sweet baby Amoura in July. My year was spent doing a lot of traveling. Between work and family visits I wracked up some mileage.

I made multiple trips to Utah to visit with my sisters, and both my children and their families. For work I traveled to Long Beach in August and Washington, DC in October.

Natalie and I had fantastic trip to New York City in August. It was such a great trip. Now when I watch TV or movies, I love to see the sights of NYC and say, "hey, I've been there!" We also were able to spend some time outside the city with my friend Gail and her husband Wayne.

So now this post has turned into a review of 2014. That's quite alright. I have enjoyed taking lots of photos this year and have some posted on my Camera Capture page of this blog.

In 2015 I need to blog more (helps me keep track of the events in my life), I need to do more with my food blog. I love cooking and taking pictures so that's a perfect combination for me.

At work we are  moving into a newly remodeled area of our same building the end of January. We are also getting a new Director. All of that will change up the dynamics of our group. Should be interesting.

2015

I will do more of some things

and less of other things.

Here's the start to the More and Less lists

More - sewing, writing, blogging, photography, time outdoors, exercising, talking on the phone to family members, card sending, listening, Skyping with the grand daughters, relaxing, hula hooping, fabric, knitting, going to movies, trying new recipes, reading, dusting, vacuuming, sleeping, positive thoughts, saving money, downsizing stuff, fruits, vegetables, and more floating. I'm sure there will be more to add to this list.

Less - gossiping, complaining, whining, buying things, wasting food, wasting time, piles of magazines, paper, clutter, dust, weight, procrastinating, negativity. There will definitely be more added to this list also.

I like this idea of a More and Less list. Think about it, what would you put on your lists?

Pictures for the New Year. I love the Christmas holiday, the lights, the feeling, everything about it. On my recent jaunt to Utah I was able to visit Temple Square in Salt Lake City and see the Christmas lights. It was absolutely gorgeous. Here is just a glimpse.