Sunday, September 23, 2012

Simple Pleasures

A few things that have made this week sweet:

Reupholstered chairs



The bounty of Bountiful Baskets
Look at those lovely pears!



Final stages of a 6-month road construction project in our neighborhood
6 months - 1/2 mile just to get to the 1st street (and it's still a 2-lane road)



Dinner on the patio with special friends
Bittersweet because Vicky is moving :(



An inspiring devotional with Elder D. Todd Christofferson 



A happy husband when we have cold cereal for Sunday dinner


Birthday flowers that still look lovely





Monday, September 17, 2012

Another One Bites The Dust

Goodbye & good riddance September 17 deadline.
From the gang at JH

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Jigsaw Puzzle

Can't help myself, I LOVE these photos Ayrel & Ben took at Antelope Canyon. I didn't steal all the pictures posted on their blog, just the ones that look like pieces to a giant jigsaw puzzle. And maybe a few more...





















Sunday, September 2, 2012

362 Days

It just dawned on me that when my next birthday rolls around I will be turning 60.
 
These are the things I am committing right now to do between now and then so that I can stay young (as promised in the book "1001 Ways To Stay Young"):
 
1. Spin until I fall over
2. Hang a hammock in my living room
3. Never admit I don't know how to use my i-pod
4. Paint the walls in my house pink to give my complexion a youthful glow
5. Switch my birthday to February 29
6. Call my friends "Grandma" (or "Grandpa")
7. Drink chocolate milk with a straw (and blow bubbles)
8. Write memos at work in invisible ink
9. Never complain about a drafty room
10. Quit pinching baby cheeks (it's a great way to be mistaken for a witch)
 
 
Plus, a few quotes that I will memorize:

"The only disability is a bad attitude,"
- Oscar Pistorias (paralympic runner)
  
"Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul,"
- Douglas MacArthur
 
"You can only be young once. But you can always be immature,"
- Dave Barry
 
 
I don't have any problem with the aging process. Well, except I really don't like gray hair, spider veins and age spots, but otherwise I like the getting older and wiser stuff. I like looking at my life and knowing it's been - and continues to be - nothing short of wonderful. I love the time family and friends take to remember my birthday, and the kind and funny greetings sent my way. I love the unexpected remembrances.

 
 
And of course, I love all the good food that came with my birthday this year:
 
BeeYouTeeFull cookies from my kids - so special that nobody at work would eat them...

...but they were willing to eat these yummies, also from my kiddos
 

Chocolate Mousse Cake!
When I arrived at work I found my entire desk covered with cookies, cards, cake and decorations. It was such a fun surprise, and even more fun to share it all with the great people I get to work with.
 
 
A dreamy dinner at Ardavino's - red snapper with the most lovely vegetables and orzo. Keven was quite happy I didn't bring my camera along; you will have to trust me that it was as yummy and as beautiful as you can imagine.
 
 
 
A perfect ending to a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of birthday!
 
 
And the very next day:
 
5:45 am - my first run as an older woman, and my running buddies didn't abandon me. Neither did my blue moon!