Too Long!

Well, its been too long since I updated so I thought I should get my act together! Christmas was great! Russ & Heidi were here for Christmas eve and part of Christmas day along with all of Gina's kids except for Ty. We had a really good time! I love spending time with my family!

I just got back from Phoenix last week. I hadn't seen my mom since October and it was fun to see her. We always have a good time together even if we don't do anything! Just lots of movies and hanging out!

I did have a crazy drive to Phoenix though. About a 1/4 mile north of St. George I hit something on the road and trashed 2 tires and the alignment. I hobbled to Big O tires and spent 3 hours and $1000 getting tires, alignment and new brakes. I am most mad about the brakes because they were scary low and I just had my inspection at the end of January. Sometimes it is good when bad things happen because you find other issue that could be serious. Then I got to spend 2 hours north of Las Vegas in the NASCAR race traffic and just when I thought I was finally going to make it to Phoenix, I ran into a midnight marathon on the road between Kingman and Wickenburg. I don't think I went over 20 mph for about 40 miles. So the normal 9 hours drive took about 14 hours. I was never so happy to see my mom's house!

Work is good, just so old same old. Always looking for ways to make it better!

Hope everyone is well! Talk to you soon!

Gratitude!

This is the time of year that we spend time thinking of what we are grateful for! I have a wonderful family that I am so appreciative for. I was thinking the other day that it has been almost 20 years since I moved here for a 3 week recoup my sanity stay after leaving my x-husband. Where has the time gone? When I tell people my sister and I have lived together that long, they think we are nuts. But truth is, Gina is my best friend. She has always been such a strong support in the tough times and it is nice to know that you always have someone in your corner. And then, there is Russ and Heidi! What a great couple they are! I love that they love each other so much! I can't wait (when the time is right, not pushing) for grandkids. Then I have my "other" children! Truly they are like my kids. Austin is such a good kid, man! And if you ever get the chance, go see his band, "This is my Escape" Once you get past the noise, they are really good! Tyson is doing good in Pocatello. He has a sweet baby that was born in May named Amberlynn. Meagan is an endless source of entertainment. She is always good for a laugh! And so beautiful! Then there is my bud, Mason! What fun we have together! He is fun to travel with, always game for whatever and has really been a blessing in my life! And I can't forget my mom. For those of you who know her, know how much fun she is. We have such a good time travelling together. I can't wait to see what adventure next summer will bring. Lastly, I am so grateful for my friends! I have so many wonderful friends! They are so amazing and such an inspiration to me in so many ways!

So that is what I am grateful for! My challenge is for you to take a minute and let the world know what you are grateful for!

Learning to Crochet

Russ and Heidi (Since I don't have a pix of me and Heidi)

Last Saturday Heidi and I had the fun adventure of learning to crochet. I have tried several times before but have been a dismal failure! This I attributed to being left handed. The last time I tried to learn, I even made the lady teaching me cry out of frustration. (Yes, I can be that dense!!)

But to my great suprise, I got it this time! YEAH!!! And Heidi even learned to crochet right handed. I am not nearly that talented but I did get the hang of it. So don't be suprised when you get some great homemade crocheted gift in your future. If I actually crochet something recognizable, I may post a picture!

Snow!

So, it's October 11th and it went from summer to WINTER in about 30 minutes. They say that it is suppose to snow tonight! Now truth be told, I love winter except for 1 thing, I can't were my sandals.

It hasn't started yet, but hopefully it will be nice and white when I wake up in the morning!

Here is a website to teach you how to make your own snow if you don't get any!

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/project/project.htm

Finished!

So, I finished Breaking Dawn at 7am this morning! I love these books! I am thrilled with the way the story ends! I love nice, tidy endings with all the loose ends cleared up! I may have to re-read them just to catch the things I missed the 1st go-round! Thanks Heidi for pushing me to read them! We need to chat!

I have succumed to the Vampires & Werewolfs

So Thursday night, I got home from work and didn't want to watch the debate. Truth be told, I am so sick the this election (it seems like the campaign has been going for YEARS!!!) I decided to read. I am currently in the middle of 3 books, one about John Wilkes Boothe, one about Magellen and I had just started Twilight (about 20 pages in). So I grabbed what was handy and started reading Twilight about 8:30pm. And read and read and read. Finished at 5:30am and had to be at work at 7:00am. So I went up to Meagan's room to see if I could find the 2nd book to get started on it before work. Its probably a good thing that she had it out in her car (unbeknowst to me) because I probably would have been late for work. So I get home Friday night about 6:00 and she brings me the book about 10pm. So once again, an all-nighter reading. I finished it about noon yesterday (just in time for conference). I watched conference and went to pick Mason and his friends up from lagoon at 10pm. Then I had to rush home to start #3. But tragedy of all tragedies, we don't have Eclipse. So I sent Mason and Austin on a emergency book run to get the book. Then I realized how tired I was from 2 nights up all night so I was determined to SLEEP! I watched both sessions of conference. Ate our annual conference breakfast of strawberry pancakes and picked up a bit. NOW, I am 300 pages into Eclipse and I need to call my friend, Christine and make sure she brings me #4 to work tomorrow so I can finish. This is so reminiscent of Harry Potter. I never read 1 of the books until my mom came up a year ago for surgery. I read 1-7 in a week.

Reading is the best escape ever!

P.S. What's not to love about a book with a Porsche in it (although mine would be red)

My trip to AZ! again (3rd trip this year)

Well, I just got back yesterday from the annual summer road trip with my mom! Unfortunately, she had to work in the middle of our trip so we had 2 "mini" vacations! On August 23, we went to the west part of the Grand Canyon. This is where the Sky Bridge is that you can walk out over the edge of the canyon. I wasn't sure that I could actually do it but hey, you only live once!

The adventure began with a crazy drive in the middle of no where! The last 15 miles are on a dirt (and incredibly bumpy) road. So we get to the gate and pay $20 to park. Then you have to go and buy a "pass" to see the canyon for another $30. But that doesn't include the sky bridge, so then we got to pay another $30 to walk on the bridge. When for those who know my mom, she said, "Look, we can get a package deal with all of that PLUS a helicopter ride to the bottom and a boat ride on the river for only $60 more. So there you go! Off we go to get on the helicopter! I am not afraid of heights or of flying at all but oh my gosh! it was crazy! You are flying along the ground and get to the edge of the canyon and then you zoom straight down over the edge of the canyon! I have to be honest, my stomach did a bit of a flip! Then the amazing view that you never could get otherwise.

They fly you right up against the sides of the canyon and thru the nooks and cranny's in the canyon! It was awesome! Then down to the bottom for a fun 5 mile trip on the river! The guide was great! The river was very muddy because of the canyon flooding further upstream. He said that the Indian village was washed out completely and they had to evacuate the people by helicopter! He said that all of the helicopters in the area were taking people out! Crazy!

Anyway, after that then we went over to the sky bridge! Definitely not for the people afraid of heights! It goes out over the canyon and you can look straight down 4000 ft! It took a bit of time to get brave enough to walk on the clear glass part but I did it and lived to tell!

Then back to Phoenix so my mom could work for a few days! On Friday, August 29th, we flew to Reno and then took a bus to Lake Tahoe for a fun filled 3 days/2 night vacation that my mom got for FREE! (Well free for me, not sure how much she had to gamble to get that FREE trip!) Anyway, we had a good dinner and then planned on taking a boat trip on Saturday! It was really fun because it was a "narrarated" tour with Mark Twain. I learned he spend several years in the Lake Tahoe area and LOVED IT! So he told stories and history of the area and it was fun! If you have never been, Lake Tahoe is the 2nd deepest lake in the U.S. It is 1600 ft deep and the water is so clear you can see down about 80 feet. It was very relaxing even though the wind was blowing the boat was very steady! (I am more afraid of boats than flying) Then back to the hotel for more "fun" (that means Carla gambling and me reading my book in the room!) Then back to Phoenix on Sunday!

All in all a very fun and relaxing trip! Oh by the way, I did see the movie, "Traitor" excellcent movie!

So now I have to plan the next great adventure!