What a Summer! Part 2

As previously mentioned I have so many pictures in my portfolio that I decided to make this a two part er...so here are a few more of my summer photos.

Again, thanks to all you wonderful family members and friends who keep in touch with us. It really means a lot especially being so far from our kids! For those of you who are not aware...I have started a new Enchanted blog for my company with design tips, etc...you can access it at www.enchantedesign.blogspot.com Thanks! Matti for spending so much time helping me get this set up. I am so pleased with the results! And a special thanks to Jen and her friends for that great picture they took of the "Twilight" walk in Oregon. Just like I pictured that place in the book;-) Please check it out when you have time and I would love to receive any comments and/or questions you might have. Also just another reminder for all of you who are getting email updates on this blog to click on the blue print at the bottom that says My Invincible Summer and it will open up to my actual blog with all our family pictures...etc.

Speaking of which, I am excited to say that we have added a new sweet little face under Miah's Team. We welcomed grand child number 18 to our family yesterday at 11:20 AM. Great job Rachel and Miah and a special welcome to our little Kaylee Ann;-)!!! She is a definite keeper:-)

The summer has begun to wind down and today is the first official day of fall, but the weather has stayed really warm here. In fact it has been record setting! It was such a pleasant surprise to wake up to cooler temperatures this morning so I started my morning walk routine again. The grass and flowers were so gorgeous! Tom and I actually got out one morning last week and walked almost 5 miles, but then it got hot again. So, hopefully I will be able to get back in shape now. As you can tell by the pictures I definitely enjoy my "treats" this summer. I have found that just swimming each day is not as beneficial for the elderly sags, if you know what I mean. Things definitely get more challenging after 65! Right now I am trying to walk and swim each day until it gets too cool for the swimming.

The last two "tropical" monsoon months have caused the plants and trees around here to go crazy. So Tom, bless him, braved the heat a few days ago and cut back some of the vigorous growth around here. I think he was enjoying it a bit too much and got a little tooooo carried away on the Mesquite tree though...LOL. I was teasing him because his "favorite" shorts are so baggy since he lost the 40 pounds. You know how guys are about their favorites...so what can a poor woman do? Anyway to reward him for his efforts we topped off the morning with my infamous whole wheat waffles by the pool.

Well, I have included some more pictures for you, but they may not be in any particular order because I am not that adept as yet at formatting my blog...

Missing you and looking forward to my trip to SLC in November. Hope to see all my wonderful SLC family and friends then! ...And, of course, snuggle with my sweet newest little grand daughter!!!

What a summer! Part 1

Well, I guess summer is officially over and I had better update my blog! Wow, it has been packed full of visitors, visiting and busy activities...in fact, I have so many pictures and memories that I guess I will make it a two part er;-)

It started with a fun visit from Jen and friends, then, Amy, Centry and grand kids, including one great (who braved the hottest time of the year here) and I was able to top it off with a visit to see Matti, Jon and their two little ones in Hawaii. In addition there were sprinklings of visits from good friends. For those who could not make it to see the old folks we are hopeful that maybe we can get together very soon:) In the interim we have appreciated all the Skyping, IMs, texts, photos, calls and letters to keep in touch. So many fun moments to record in our memory book. Thanks you guys for making it so special!

In honor of Grandma Ruth's 96th birthday this month, I thought it would be the perfect time to show our appreciation for our kids. Dad and I are so very grateful for our wonderful family.

Here are a few of the many highlights to relive again the past few months...

I did it!

Well, it was probably the most taxing thing my old brain has tackled in a long long time, but after several weeks of class and MANY hours of study, I am very pleased to report that I have passed my health renewal exam. This means I am officially a certified health renewist! I must admit I was ready to quit several times and the thought of a four hour exam looming ahead just about did me in...but I hung in there---thanks to some encouragement from my friends and family;-) I must admit I have renewed (no pun intended) admiration for all the students out there when it comes to studies and exams!

For the first month or so (until I improve my speed), I will be giving complimentary renewals to any of you who would be interested, so give me a call to schedule a time. Just a heads up that once I improve my timing, I will be charging for this service so you may want to get in on this deal while you can;-) Hoping to hear from you...

Keep on keeping on...

Just so I don't lose momentum I am sending off a short post.

Today I am back down to earth and finally hitting the books again and studying hard for my Renewal exams next week. Took the day off yesterday to "play" for a while. Spent it with Tom just hanging out, walking the mall and dinner at his favorite place, Olive Garden;-) Unfortunately, we ate way more than we walked but really had a fun time!

I have got to get back to my regular morning walk routine tomorrow! Hope you will help to keep me honest about that;-)

This and That...V

Ok, so I missed a couple of days but I am going to call it a V for victory anyway, because this exercise has worked to get me back to a regular schedule blogging again! Thanks, Julie for inspiring me!

As for missing...I really do have a good excuse as my good friend Gayane flew down to spend a few days with me and we have had a blast with shopping (mostly window), lunches out, walks, swims, etc., etc...Thanks Gayane for a wonderful weekend;-)

This being Memorial Day, I want to remember all the wonderful young men and women who serve daily in our armed forces and all the veterans who served so faithfully in the past. We are so proud of you and all that you have done on behalf of our country. I especially want to mention my brother-in-law, Jim, who is served in Vietnam. Thanks hardly seems adequate Jim for all you went through and continue to go through due to exposure to Agent Orange while you were there. I know there are many others who are dealing with similar side effects from this tragedy. We honor you and I am so proud to have you as my brother-in-law.

The View

I am off to dreamland and have really had a full day but I could not close my eyes without a very short post.

Tonight as I was driving home from Bahama Bucks with a friend visiting from Utah, we were taken in by the full moon on the desert backdrop. It was such an inspiring view. I am so thankful to be here in Arizona;-) It has definitely been a stretch for me to be so far from my kiddos, but every day here has been a blessing in some way or another...what a beautiful place to live!

U is for Undervalued

U is for Undervalued

"Be pretty if you are; Be witty if you can; Be cheerful if it kills you."

I found this quote on line the other day and really liked it. There was no mention of an author so I guess we can chalk it up to another one by 'anonymous';-) Having a good disposition and general cheerfulness is often undervalued. Who does not enjoy being around a cheerful, upbeat person? Anyway, it reminded me of how important it is to smile or even laugh even at ourselves. From what "they" say, it takes fewer muscles and sure makes the world around us a much more pleasant and agreeable place!

I found myself in the middle of some unpleasant banter the other day between two other people. Standing there and watching the tempers the stress level rise, I just had to step back and try my best to remain calm and objective. As I watched from that point of view, it totally reminded me of two second graders going at it. It seemed that each one was wanting to prove they were right even though there wasn't anything to benefit from any of it other than some silly and lame bragging rights. Seeing this just made me smile...and ask, why, why, why do we do this to ourselves? Let's face it we all have our moments! Even though I was not at all involved in any of it, I too was feeling the stress in the air!

My husband has a favorite saying..."step back and take a deep breath", meaning don't let your emotions run away with you. So, I agree, "be cheerful if it kills you"...and you will probably live a much longer, healthier and happier life, and who doesn't want that?

T for Training...

I have spent the past few 12 hour days in the second phase of a grueling training session to learn the art of "renewing" the body. In other words we learn how to help empower the body to heal itself naturally through certain "signals". It is a natural health care renewal system similar to Reflexology, but with updated and improved methods. It is called SureFooted Health Renewal and wow...it is a very intense course. I am determined to learn this stuff and get certified! Will be taking my finals in two more weeks with a lot of review and studying in the meantime.

I must admit that learning new things at my age (especially all the medical terms) has been quite a challenge for my brain:/ but hopefully that's a good thing!!! Wish me luck...any volunteers out there for me to practice on???;-)

S is for Sea...

"My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Oh how I love the sea...it is eternally connected to my soul:)

R for Rest

I generally like to rest on the Sabbath, but today was definitely not that kind of day. After spending the morning getting ready for a house guest, I attended the dedication service for the new Gila Valley Temple. It was so moving to see such long time faithful people get their much deserved and anticipated temple. When they did the traditional hosanna shout followed by the stirring "The Spirit of God" hymn I knew I had reach a spiritual high for the day...what a wonderful experience!

Following that, my friend, Claudia, arrived from Salt Lake City for a few days and, of course, we stayed up way too late visiting about things:/ So here I am trying to remain faithful to my blogging commitment. I am definitely ready for some much needed rrrrest!

Q for Quail

I mentioned several days ago that I discovered another nest in the back yard. This time it was a large nest in the potted palm. As it was well hidden under cascading petunias, I was never able to get a close enough look at it to see the mama bird. Well today as I was reading a book by the pool, I looked up in time to see not only the mama, but at least 15 little babes toddling along behind. Yes indeed it was a family of quail and daddy was watching from the wall up above.

I am including some pictures of their nest and their walk, but you will have to look closely to see the babies hiding in the bushes. What a sweet family they make. Don't you just love nature:-)?

Pistachios and Feng Shui

Well, I believe I am on the letter P and that works for me because I have been chomping down pistachios like there is no tomorrow this morning! How does one stop once one starts? I am sitting here waiting for a repairman for my ice maker and reading a wonderful book entitled "Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui" by Karen Kingston. Matti mentioned it to me a while back and said it has helped her so much in organizing her little 400 sq. ft. home in Hawaii. Anyway, I picked it up from my local library and started reading it and... low and behold, I think I ate half the bucket of nuts! I especially love the peppered ones from Costco:) Unfortunately, they haunt me when they are in my cupboard so I try to resist them most of the time.

That brings me to the Feng Shui book and Matti you are so right! I would like to highly recommend it to everyone I know...but especially the clutter-aholics out there. I consider myself to be pretty organized and actually cleared out a lot of stuff when I moved here, but after reading this book I know there is more work for me to do! It truly was so freeing to clean out many of my long hoarded "treasures" last year, but according to Ms. Kingston, "You are connected to everything you own by fine strands of energy. When your home is filled with things that you love or use well it becomes an incredible source of support and nourishment for you. Clutter, on the other hand, drags your energy down, and the longer you keep it, the more it will affect you. When you get rid of everything that has no real meaning or significance for you, you literally feel lighter in body, mind and spirit." She goes on to say that this can become a major culprit in depression, overeating and poor health. (Do you suppose that includes pistachios:) She describes those "strands of energy" as a tangled bowl of spaghetti when we allow the clutter to build up in our homes. She says this sort of "build up" in our home is literally clogging up our progression and our ability to move on in life. She also explains why we keep clutter and how to stay clutter free. That's certainly going to be my goal! Anyway it is an easy read and a fascinating one as well, so you may want to check it out;-)

By the way, does anyone know a cure for pistachio-aholics???

Oooops I skipped a day...

I just realized yesterday went right by me and I did not post on my blog...So I guess I will have to make it up on another day. My letter today is "O" for optimism...as in lifting our fragile inner spirits.

This morning I taught a class on interior design to some gals and as it is my passion, I had a really fun time doing it. I sure hope they enjoyed themselves as well. In any event, as I was talking about creating illusions and dreamscapes with the use of lines, color, shape and form it occurred to me that we sometimes do the same with ourselves. I believe sometimes we create "outer shells" around ourselves in the hope that we don't get "discovered". Let's face it, every day we are bombarded with media blips telling us who we should be, what we should look like, where we should be seen, etc., etc. The real test comes when we go home at the end of the day and look at the woman in the mirror. Do you really love and appreciate that one staring back at you? I know I am sometimes very hard on her and do not always give her the benefit of the doubt but instead continually deflate her with self destructive talk and unnecessary comparisons.

In this day of smoke and mirrors and cosmetic "lifts"...are we losing out on knowing and appreciating the beautiful Heavenly spirit living within our bodily shells? Our Heavenly Father sent us here as a beloved daughter to learn and grow so we can return to Him even stronger and more polished than when we left. Returning home with a damaged spirit should not be an option, especially if we are the one most responsible for its condition. I hereby resolve to do all I can to uplift that woman in the mirror. I promise to give her a little more slack, more positive strokes and uplifting thoughts to help her be the best she can possibly be;-)

Nests

About a month ago I commented on a dove that had built a nest in a wire basket on my back patio. Well after her two little young ones hatched and flew off on their own, low and behold along comes another and uses the nest for her eggs! Maybe this is common in the dove world I am not sure but it surprised me to look up at the nest and see another mama sitting there so patiently.

Well we now have two more babies that have hatched and they are equally as cute as the first ones. Mother nature continually amazes me!

In addition to the doves, I have discovered a larger nest in the large potted palm tree by the pool. The pot has been overflowing with cascades of petunias so I was about to trim them back when low and behold I was attacked by a large black bird flying up into my face. What a surprise that was!

Anyway, I guess the birds have decided to turn the back yard into a birdie nursery...and, truthfully I am loving every moment of it;-)

Mmmmmmmmmm....

M is the letter for my post today....and I am going to talk about monkeys;-) Not the cute ones with the long tails that swing from vine to vine at the zoo. No I mean the ones that have strangleholds around our necks that we carry on our backs!

It is a concept I learn many years ago in a time-management class and it has stayed with me through the years. We all do it from time to time and we all have them sooner or later. Some of us are real champs at it...or is that chimp chumps! They are those things on our "to-do" list that never quite get done...but, hopefully "one of these daze"! Well I am deciding today to get rid of all those irritating "monkeys" that do nothing but continually cause me stress. Things like that pile of mailers that might have a good coupon to clip if I just had time to go though it, or that fabric I bought several years ago waiting to be used in a craft project, that dress in my closet that needs altering and is probably out of date now anyway, or that file in my desk drawer marked "miscellaneous", that old thrift store find that needs some paint and updating (but not sure where I would put it if I did fix it), all those recipes I clipped and will "someday" organize, and I know there are several more...ugh! Enough already!!! It's a wonder I can even stand up straight with all those monkeys clamoring for position...

Anyway...this gal will be walking taller the next time you see her..."look mom, no more monkeys"!:)

Love the Youth of our Church

This was our monthly fast Sunday and so that meant sharing personal testimonies at church today. I love testimony meetings, in fact, that was the very first LDS meeting I ever attended. There is something special about hearing a person share the deep and tender feelings of their heart. I believe that it is a true bonding experience and really helps to bring us closer together. It was especially good today because our young men and women just returned from a trip to the new Gila Temple open house and shared some of their spiritual experiences with us. It was so great to hear these young people stand up one by one and boldly proclaim their love of the Savior and their testimony of the divinity of temple work with all of us. I am always amazed at the strength of their convictions...it is awesome! I sometimes wonder who is leading and who is following;-)

Isn't it wonderful to know that our future is in the hands of such powerful spirits as these...

Kudos to you...

Good grief...I cannot believe it, but it is 2:00 AM and I cannot sleep so here I am blogging...I missed my Saturday post so guess I will catch up on it now.

I am on the letter "K" and that is another tuff one for me. How about kudos? Kudos to my faithful and wonderful friends who continually stand by me no matter what. You know who you are; the one who overlooks those times when I am not at my best, yet finds ways to love me anyway? The one who reads my sometimes uninspiring blogs, yet sends little notes of encouragement, invites me to sit with them in Relief Society, waves to me when I am out on my walks, remembers my special days, calls me up for a lunch date. The one who leaves me an occasional note on my Facebook page, calls to check up on me when you notice I missed a church meeting, sends me reminders for book club, shares a recipe, or even better yet, brings me a sample of a new recipe:) and so many other sweet and thoughtful things...you make such a difference in my day and my life.

I hope I am that kind of friend to you too...and thanks so much for being there for me!

Jump Rope Rhymes

Well today is the letter J. My daughter Jen reminded me that her name starts with a J...and she also told me that her first graders would remind me not to use "F" words:)

Sorry, Jen, for my "F" words and also will have to do a post on another day for Jen. As I understand the challenge these are supposed to be random things about me and so I will stick with just that...

J has been hard for me, so I googled "J" words and got a lot of them including joyful, jowl and JPEG! In fact, the more I looked the more I realized that there are a lot of things that start with J that I am not particularly fond of...jello, jerky, jogging to name a few. Then I remembered something from my childhood that I loved...jump rope!

I would spend hours after school and at recess jumping rope with my girlfriends. I knew so many jump rope rhymes like "Policeman, policeman, do your duty. Along comes (insert name) the American beauty...."; Down in the valley where the green grass grows..."; "Fortune-teller, fortune-teller, please tell me, what will the name of my husband be? A, B, C..."; "I took a trip around the world, and this is where I went..."; and my all time favorite, "Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, doctor lawyer, merchant, chief..." In fact, I think this one was a variation of the Fortune-teller one.

Can anyone tell me if any of these rhymes are still used? Also would love to have you share some you might remember;)

I think I may run out and buy a jump rope...

My "F" Words

In case you are wondering...the above photo is a baby picture of me...


My sister reminded me yesterday that I still have not written something for "F"...she suggested "fabulous" or "fruits of my labor". These are both great suggestions...thanks, Sis!

Actually when I think of FABULOUS...many things come to mind. Things such as my religion and my Savior, my kids, grand kids and family, Arizona sunshine, great friends, Mexican food (thanks to all the wonderful Hispanics who live here, and yes, like my state, I am an advocate of legal immigration;), Charming Charlies (my favorite accessories store), spending time at the ocean/Hawaii (they just seem to go together), swimming pool, dark chocolate, morning walks, lunch out with girlfriends, the smell of a new baby, good books, hiking in the mountains...wow, the list could just go on and on!

FRUITS OF MY LABOR, now this one is much more challenging. I have had 66 years to work on these so they should be really good, right? Actually, I would describe myself as a slow starter, thinking back on all the "sidetracks" I took along the way. But thanks to a wonderful Savior, who doesn't give up on us and who loves and understands me better than I understand myself, I managed to get back on the path. Without a doubt, the best "fruits" are byproducts of my 48 year marriage to a sweet husband;-) Namely, my kids, grand kids and great grands. My many wonderful friendships that have developed over the years...you know who you are:), the "me" I have come to know and accept (including my many flaws), and probably my work, more like a passion in interior design.

Well, that's enough introspection for today...I'm getting a headache!!! Tomorrow is "J";-)

I for Imagination

On my morning walk, I was thinking how wonderful our imagination is. With it, we can tap into our memories and travel back in time or visualize new places we may want to visit. We can create new things and see the world in a much better light.

In graphology there is a thing that our subconscious does when we write certain words or phrases that shows up as "traveling"...meaning we actually allow our thoughts to leave our present situation. In other words our imagination seems to take over and, believe it or not, it shows up in our handwriting. It think that is amazing. Our body and mind stores up so much more than we realize and "communicates" things to us in so many ways. We have only tapped the surface of its wonder.

Anyway, I am so thankful for my imagination and to think I work in a profession where I actually get paid to use it;-) No wonder I am so passionate about my work!

Happy traveling...

H is for HOA

This one was a no-brain-er for me after this morning's walk! The flowers and trees are getting their summer colors and it was amazing. I actually took my usual morning walk, got home and went out again for one more walk with my camera so I could always remember how blessed I am to live in such a beautiful place. I also hoped you might enjoy seeing the pictures as well.

One really interesting thing...while I was out for over an hour doing this, (other than the gardeners) I only passed one other person! I felt as though I had my own private Garden of Eden;-)

I know we all have our "moments" with HOAs, especially when it comes time to pay the bill or trying to get approvals on things, but watching the workmen out there this morning mowing and trimming and digging...I was really thankful that I did not have to worry about all that and just enjoy the results it brings;-) Kudos to our HOA...at least that is how I am feeling about them today!

And, for all my friends and kids who live "far, far, away" as my grandson Caide puts it...how about coming down for a visit to enjoy some of this with me???