The Oldest Members of the Group

Tonight my friends and I went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesdays to celebrate my birthday and the birthday of one of my friends - we are birthday buddies, born 3 days and 1 year apart.  We are affectionately referred to as the "oldest members of the group", because we are.

We had great food and a very attentive waiter who kept our water glasses full, looked the other way when we went back for seconds at the salad bar, accepted all the coupons that we brought, split our check 6 ways, and even brought us 6 complimentary cupcakes at the end of our meal in honor of our special occasion.  That Ryan is a good guy!  The BYU football game and the Republican National Convention speeches were showing on the 2 TVs conveniently located by our table and we felt right at home.

Whenever we go out for a birthday celebration, it seems like we are trying to discretely exchange money and sign cards under the table so the birthday girl is "surprised" when a card appears in front of her sometime during the meal.  Some attempts are more successful than others.  I was in charge of purchasing the card and collecting the money for my birthday buddy this year.  I ended up purchasing a card that I thought was entertaining, but it was one that unfolded to become the size of a poster board.  Needless to say, it was difficult to sign it inconspicuously, but it was fun to try.

One friend ended up coming in late and a little frazzled.  Somewhere between the ATM and the restaurant, she had lost the 2 twenties that were supposed to be included in the cards.  She had been searching for them, with no success. The conversation turned to who had given money to who and who owed who money and so on and so forth.  All the sudden my birthday buddy says to me, "Did I give you money?"  I say, "Yes, I collected money from everyone except #6 (the late friend with the missing money)."  BB says, "Oh yeah, I remember walking it down to your house (we are next door neighbors as well as birthday buddies)."  In the meantime I am thinking, "Wait, I don't remember getting money from her.  Did she bring me money?"  I envision the chest in my entry way and the money from  friend 1 and the money from friend 2, but no money from BB.  Friend 3 gave me money tonight and we aren't sure where friend 6 put her money, but what did I do with BB's money?  I say "I don't know what I did with your money. Look in your card and see how much is there."   That's when I realized, she wasn't supposed to give me money for her gift.  We were giving her money!

But wait, she remembers bringing me money.  Finally we figured out that that was 2 months ago for friend 2's birthday.

There for a minute we thought we were having some "old age" memory loss.

As for #6, she is the youngest member of the group and has no excuse for forgetting where she put her money.

P.S. I took my camera to the party, but I forgot to take any pictures.

Today I am thankful that

I have good friends to celebrate with.
I can laugh at myself when I do kind of dumb things.
#6 chose to only get $40.00 out of the ATM and not the $80.00 that she was going to get.

Our Family Motto?

Perhaps you remember that some time,

a long time ago,

we started a "family tradition"

of going out to breakfast on patriotic holidays.

At least that's how the story goes.

Well, this morning

when I asked the hubby

what he was going to make me for breakfast

he replied, "IHOP".

I voted for Village Inn.

I knew from past experience

that the other members of the family

needed to be invited.

Luckily, for our bank account,

the majority of our family

were out of town today

so we were a small family of four.

I haven't been to Village Inn in a long time

and they had done some redecorating.

I actually thought it was fun.

We were seated right next to this wall.

I'm thinking this is the perfect decoration

for my dining room

since it very easily could be our family motto.

Happy Independence Day!

I hope you had a Happy Fourth

enjoying your own family traditions.

Today I am grateful that

I have friends and family to barbecue and celebrate the 4th with. Even though we are getting less and less festive as the years go by. No one took a single photo and we all wimped out on going somewhere to watch the fireworks. Fireworks lose their appeal for me when it is HOT.

I wasn't the grandma having a nervous breakdown every time a little boy stayed under the water a little too long in the pool.

my hubby cleaned the family room to make up for not making me breakfast.

Old Friends

This morning our group of friends went out to breakfast at Cracker Barrel to celebrate two September birthdays. We had a difficult time figuring out a time that we could all be present, but it was finally decided that if we arrived at 6:45 AM it could work. We enjoyed the food, the friendship and the 75 percent off sidewalk sale they were having.
One of the birthday girls requested that we get our picture taken in the rocking chairs on the front porch in honor of the fact that we are all getting old.

We are sitting oldest to youngest in this picture. I am the truly ancient one followed somewhat close behind by the next three. The two young uns' on the end are just barely in their 40s, but according to them they are beginning to feel a little older as well.

Here's to many more birthday breakfasts before we take up permanent residence in our rockers.

Mother Daughter Date

Today the youngest daughter and I went to the movies and out to lunch while all the less fortunate family members went to school or work. It was fun to get to spend some one on one time with this daughter. We went to see the movie Julie & Julia.


From the moment I first saw the preview for this show I have wanted to see it. The 2 1/2 minute trailer made me laugh, it made me cry, and I could relate in many ways with both characters. Although I have never professed to be a cook and personally think most of the recipes in Julia Child's French cookbook sound disgusting, I have always been intrigued by Julia Child, the person, especially since I learned that she was a spy during World War II. I felt like this movie really made her personality come to life and I learned a lot of things about her that I didn't know before. I also loved Julie Powell's idea to cook every recipe in the Julia Child cookbook and blog about her experience. I will admit that I love blogs and would love to come up with a blog project that I could really get into like this one. Something that other people would be interested in reading, that would eventually turn into a book and then a movie... I'm still looking for that elusive idea, but keep your eyes peeled. You never know when it might happen and then you will be able to say, 'I was with her from the very beginning".

Now, for my thoughts on the movie. I really, really enjoyed it! It was definitely not full of action- packed adventure, but lots of subtle humor, retrospection, self-discovery and lessons about life. I was pleased to find out that both characters were married to the significant men in their lives rather than just living with them. This doesn't happen too often in today's movies. The only thing I didn't like about the movie was the language, but after quickly perusing Julie Powell's blogs and a preview for her book, I have discovered that the language could have been so much worse than it was. To quote Julie Powell "I happen to believe that curse words are vital parts of the language, and I write accordingly." Everyone is entitled to their personal opinion (although I still believe that my opinion is the right one) and I would personally like to thank the movie writers/editors who chose to leave most of her colorful words out of the film. My daughter wasn't as big a fan of the movie as I was, but she is still young enough to enjoy non-stop action and adventure. She felt that there was way too much cooking going on.

After the movie we went to PEI-WEI for some of their yummy spicy chicken salad and it was definitely still yummy. While we were there we got to participate in a "Chinese Fire drill". Apparently a belt on some type of machinery broke and although there was no fire, the restaurant filled with smoke and we all got to jump up and find new seats on the patio. Unfortunately there were fewer seats outside than there had been people inside and some people opted to just abandon their food and leave, but the daughter and I stuck around to enjoy every bite. Fortunately it was a cooler day than most of the ones we have been experiencing recently and eating al fresco was rather fun. Thanks daughter for suggesting such a fun day!

Today I am thankful for

a daughter to have fun with.
$5.00 matinees (who would have ever thought that $5.00 for a movie would sound like such a good deal) and a movie gift card that made the movie only cost us 50 cents.
something to look forward to. In just a couple of hours I am off for a getaway with my friends.

One year ago today - Family Life Merit Badge

Seventeen

Why does 17 sound so much older to me than 16?

Tonight we went out to eat to celebrate the youngest son's birthday. We went to Cafe Laguna for Indian Tacos and they were good. They had a soccer match showing on the TV so we hung around for a while watching it.

I think the restaurant workers were happy to see us go.
This picture reminds me of the cell phone commercial where the people represent the bars - shortest to tallest, almost.

And yup, I was there too!

Today I am thankful for

excuses to eat out with my family.
the safe arrival home of my son. He was in one piece and his scout pants were too.
any day in June that is cooler than 100.

One year ago today - Toe Surgery, National Doughnut Day!

To Drive Thru or Not to Drive Thru

I was very excited to receive a refund check from the oral surgeon in the mail a couple of days ago. Apparently if you get a dry socket they feel bad for you and give you some of your money back. Actually, the insurance paid a lot more than they had predicted it would and so we got two thirds of our payment returned. Hooray! It was a pretty fair amount of money, which the youngest son insisted should be signed over to him since he was the one who suffered the pain. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for us, the check was made out to his father and therefore the money went back into our checking account.
This morning I took the check to the bank to deposit it. I considered whether I should get out of the car and take it inside or just do it at the drive thru ATM. I think it is pretty cool now when you deposit a check in the ATM you put your card in and then you just slide the check into the machine and it prints you out a pretty little picture of the check and credits your account. It's super easy. However, this morning I decided that the good Lord blessed me with two legs so I could walk into the bank and not just sit on my backside. I filled out the deposit slip, walked in and got in line. There were about 4 people ahead of me. Quickly the roving employee approached me and asked what had brought me in to the bank today. I wanted to say the two legs that the good Lord blessed me with, but I refrained. Remember we are working on our sarcasm in our household at the moment. Anyway, I told her I was making a deposit and she invited me to the front counter to assist me. While she was helping me she asked, "Have you ever used the drive thru ATM to deposit a check"? I replied, "Yes." "It's so much quicker for you, and so easy. I don't know why everyone doesn't do it." Here I had made the "better" choice to actually get out of my car and walk inside and I felt I was being reprimanded. I responded with "but then I wouldn't have gotten to see your happy, smiling face." I'm not sure she was looking that happy after my remark. I guess next time I need to make a deposit I'll probably just drive thru.
On the way home I decided to stop at McDonalds and buy me a McDouble for lunch. Now, I do have legs, but I pretty much always choose to use fast food drive thrus. Going inside is a hassle. I ordered my hamburger, plain of course since that is the way I like it. I got to the second window, gave the employee my money and waited and waited and waited. Finally the employee tried to give me a drink, but I hadn't ordered a drink. I told her what I was waiting for and she looked in about four bags, decided on one and handed it to me. As I was driving away I decided to double check that she had actually given me what I ordered. It was indeed a McDouble, but not plain. I parked my car and went inside. I waited in the line where a gentleman was taking orders. Finally a woman came to a different register and asked if she could help me. I told her I had ordered my sandwich plain, but it wasn't. She turned to the male employee and told him my problem and he responded, "I know." "I know?" He walked to the warmer, picked up my special order sandwich, put it in a bag and handed it to me. "Mistake." Personally I think he just wanted me to see his happy, smiling face.

Birthday Boy

Today was the oldest boy's 23rd birthday. I don't know how my kids can be getting so old. He had planned to go out to Cafe Laguna for Indian Tacos to celebrate, but since his Auntie made those last night he decided he would rather eat at his old favorite "Mi Amigos". We were sure to tell them that it was his birthday so he could wear the sombero and be serenaded.

It was a fun meal with our "family", but our family is getting too big to go out to eat together very often.

This son was my only child to be born before his due date. He wasn't suppose to arrive until April 4th, but for some reason he really wanted to celebrate his birthday every year on April Fool's Day and hurried to get out. I was glad he came when he did since he was also my largest baby, weighing in at an even 9 pounds.

After dinner we came back to the house and opened gifts. I had bought him some new Jeans online and decided to even pay the extra money to have them hemmed. When he opened the package to check them out he found the extra material from the legs stuck in one of the pockets. He decided it would work as a headband and modeled for us.


Looking at how even that strip of fabric is cut, I could have probably done as good a job of hemming the pants as they did.

Today I am thankful for

a son who sets aside 15 minutes to talk to me every morning.
family and friends to celebrate with.
money.

Tying it Together

The oldest daughter and I decided to continue to be ambitious during her Spring Break so we borrowed some quilting frames and tied the quilt that we finished Tuesday.

We didn't want to just work during her "vacation" however, so the other daughter and the roommate-girlfriend came over and we went to lunch together.


I chose to take them to Iguana Mack's.

A fun restaurant that my visiting teachee introduced me to that has a reasonably priced lunch menu and some really funky interior decor.


We had a lot of fun. The youngest daughter enjoyed taking lots of random photos and the oldest daughter got to drink rootbeer "shot right out of the gun".

It's nice to have a quiet day and take time to smell the "roses".


Today, while we still had the quilting frames we put together some other fabric I had lying around and tied another baby quilt.


This one was to appease the baby if he's a boy. Plus it has little airplanes on it in honor of the son-in-law.




Now we just have to get them bound and they are done!

No Such Thing As a Free Lunch?

The saying goes that there is no such thing as a free lunch, but even though I understand the sentiment expressed in this statement, there are times when I feel inclined to disagree.

This has been a week of free lunches for me so far.

Monday the oldest daughter had the day off of work for President's day, but her hubby still had to go to school, poor guy, so she asked me if I would like to take a road trip in her new car to Glendale for a salad at Rumba Cafe. Once, a long time ago, there used to be a Rumba Cafe in Mesa and my family, friends and I frequented it often, but one day it closed and we were all sad. Every now and then we get the urge to take a drive and eat some good food. This was one of those every now and thens. The daughter drove and paid for lunch.

Free Lunch - Day 1!

Yes, I probably have bought her lunch in the past and yes, I will probably be expected to do something nice for her sometime in the future, and there is always the possibility that that lunch will put her over the financial edge and she will end up having to move in with me to save money, but for today, my lunch was free.

Thank you dear daughter.

My visiting teaching companion and I have been helping one of our visiting teachees sort and pack and organize her belongings as she prepares to move to Missouri. This project has been going on for a l-o-n-g time. We are finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel or more accurately the taillights on the 3rd moving van heading for the new home and so yesterday we celebrated and the recipient of our help treated us to lunch. We went to a restaurant called Iguana Macks in Mesa. It calls itself a roadhouse and had some very eclectic food and unique decor. They are known for their ciabbata bread and dipping sauce and I will agree that it was very tasty, as was my soup and salad lunch special. At the end of lunch the bill passed right over me.

Free Lunch - Day 2!

OK, I do realize that I definitely invested more time and energy in this endeavor than what the lunch probably cost, but the lunch was a bonus and somewhat unexpected, and therefore I am calling it free.

Thank you dear Relief Society sister.

Today brought my visiting teaching companion and I together once again armed with packing tape and a sharpie marker. We were surprised when we arrived at the almost empty home to discover that we were invited to be guests at the next door neighbor's house for lunch. The neighbors are a very hospitable older couple who are also members of the church. The wife is Hawaiian and Japanese and grew up in Hawaii and she and her husband spend at least a few months every year in Hawaii where they own a home, store and restaurant which they lease to a cousin there. They are a delightful couple with lots of interesting stories that they enjoy sharing. We were served Teriaki pork sandwiches and fried rice and it was delicious. I don't really know this couple very well, since health problems and travel have kept them from attending church on a regular basis since our wards were combined, but I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with them and hearing about all the adventures they have had during their lives.

Free Lunch - Day 3!

I do honestly believe that this could truly be considered a free lunch. I didn't do anything to deserve this and I don't think there is anything expected from me in return. We were told that we were eating leftovers that would otherwise have gone to waste. They can feed me their leftovers anytime.

Thank you dear neighbors.

Today I am thankful for

nice people.
an upbeat phone call from my mom.
the freedom to sit and listen to stories if I want to.

Saturday Afternoon Ride

Today my oldest brother and his wife came to visit. We decided to go to the Polar Queen to have some of their yummy fish and chips.

They use to be even better when they served them with English chips, but they still fulfill that greasy fish and chip craving. I have never figured out why they think they need to serve them with toast. Not enough carbs and fat in the fish and the fries?
Then mom felt like she was up for a ride so we drove out through Spring Lake, Santaquin, and Goshen. My brother is pretty smart and he remembered how to get to the group of white birch trees out in the fields where the bald eagles roost.

I was surprised at how many of them were hanging out there.

We counted 7 in one tree. The trees were in a field a little way from the road, but the eagles had to know we were there and they were perfectly content to have us gawk at them.
Then we drove on through Elberta to the thriving metropolis of Eureka, nearly running over a group of deer in the process. Some of them looked before crossing the road and some of them didn't.

Of course, by the time I got the camera out and working they had gotten pretty far away. It was interesting how in this one spot there was hardly any snow, but the rest of the ride there was still a lot.
It was a really pretty ride. The snow had started to melt and then refrozen and the hills were so shiny and beautiful. It looked like it would be nice, slick tubing snow. Then all the sagebrush bushes were covered with snow and they looked like little snow rocks dotting the landscape. Along one section of road there were some rock cliffs all covered with frozen water falls. So pretty.

On the way back home we stopped at the Red Barn in Santaquin for some ice cream. It was a very fun few hours of visiting, exploring, reminiscing, and eating, of course. My favorite way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Today I am thankful for

history. Both my family history and the history of the world that I live in.

nature. It's so nice to get out of the city and just enjoy all the living things that share our world with us.

small towns. I am definitely a small town kind of girl. They each seem to have their own unique personality.

Transit Tourists

Today our family took advantage of the free light rail during it's first week of operation and headed downtown for a trip to the Heard Museum and lunch at the Spaghetti Factory.

This was a field trip that we had planned to take "sometime" way back in August when we celebrated my birthday and I was glad that it worked out that we could all fit it into our schedules.

The hubby was accommodating enough to even take the day off of work for the outing. Actually he had a day of annual leave he had to use or lose before the end of the year, so it worked out well.

As it turned out we weren't the only family that had the same idea of how to spend part of our holiday break. We had lots of company on the trains and at the restaurant.

These pictures don't make it look nearly as crowded as it was . When it was the most squishy I couldn't lift my arms to take any pictures. Just think friendly and then add about 25 more people.

We visited the museum first. The Heard museum focuses on Native American history, culture and art. We watched some Hopi dancing and viewed lots of exhibits. The youngest daughter and the roommate had lots of fun making all of the craft projects. I felt it was appropriate to snap a photo of the family in front of this exhibit.

My favorite exhibit was about the history of Indian Boarding schools.

It was sad to read some of the quotes and hear some of the memories of the students and parents. Many of the children in the photos were so small and looked so lost. It's interesting how the white man felt it was his responsibility to civilize the savage red man, mainly because it was more cost effective to educate them than to kill them.

We thought this poster encouraging the Indian boys to develop their "manly aggressions" was a little ironic. I wonder if some of today's professional athletes realize they are striving to be "controlled and civilized"?

The hubby's two older sisters were required to attend boarding school but only for high school and I think boarding schools had changed a lot by then. They actually had positive experiences there.

We ended up having to wait quite a while to be seated at the Spaghetti Factory but I believe it was worth it. Other members of the family might not agree.

I thoroughly enjoyed our day even though I was afraid for a few minutes that I might be thrown from a moving train when the woman standing next to me realized that I was a "transit tourist" and not using the light rail "for the purpose for which it was intended." I don't know. I think if the Metro offers free rides for a week they pretty much expect people to just ride the light rail for entertainment and a new experience. I bet that working woman has a seat to sit on now that everyone has to purchase a ticket to ride.

Today I am grateful for

a sense of humor.

time with my family.

progress in the acceptance of cultural diversity.

Date Night

When I was in Utah helping my mom we watched the Hallmark Channel on TV a lot. Every night they would show the trailer for the movie Fireproof that was "coming to a theatre near you soon". I decided I really wanted to see this movie. Today I talked my hubby into going to it with me. (I enticed him with some of my Harkins gift cards). I totally enjoyed this film. It had a great message and was also entertaining. You can watch the trailer here. It was so refreshing to see a movie that supports marriage and the family rather than putting them down. After the movie we went and checked out a new restaurant called Cafe Laguna. They specialize in Fry Bread and the hubby and I were big fans. Yum, Yum! I had the original with shredded beef and my other half had the original with ground beef. We had a coupon - buy one get one half off - but the owners were extremely nice and gave us the family and friends discount that turned out to be half off everything. $10.00 for two "indian tacos" and drinks. It was definitely worth it. If you're ever in the vicinity of Power and Baseline in Mesa check them out. You won't regret it. It was a great date night!! Today I am thankful for my husband that I love very much. movie makers with morals. seventy five degree high temperatures.

Fall Break with the Boys

My boys are kind of boring.
They both have Fall Break this week
and I tried to talk them into
going somewhere fun with me
and they said no.
For some reason they don't think
anywhere would be fun with me.
Apparently they think I am boring.
The boys are content
to play football on the computer,
watch movies,
and go out to eat.
The oldest son is going to
Weight Watchers with his sisters
so he feels a little guilty about eating out
but not guilty enough to not do it.

Perhaps he thought no one would recognize him
hidden behind that Oregano's menu.
I decided to go with them to Oreganos.
Their lunch menu is a great deal.
3 heck of a slice pizzas with toppings,
Pepperoni for one boy,
Pepperoni and pineapple for the other,
and Basil and Roma Tomatoes for me.
Drinks - Diet Coke for the oldest son,
water with lemon for the youngest,
and plain old water for me.
plus a pizzookie, to share, for dessert -
half white chocolate chip macadamia nut
and half chocolate chip
(except it tasted alot like peanut butter
with chocolate chips in it)
topped with vanilla bean ice cream.
All for $20 bucks.
It was an especially good deal
because the incognito son paid.

Today I am thankful for

clean laundry.
a washing machine.
Fall break, so I can sleep in.

Girl's Night Out

I am so lucky!
I have had a girl's night out.
with my daughters and
my pretend daughters
two Saturday nights in a row.

Last week
we all enjoyed Pork Barbacoa Salad
provided by the Stake Relief Society
and then watched the General Woman's Broadcast.
It was a wonderful meeting
and even better because
I got to share it with my girls.

Tonight we all went out to dinner
at Charlestons
while the boys attended
the Priesthood session of General Conference
and went out to dinner afterwards.




As you can see, some of us take our eating
a lot more seriously than others.



We laughed a lot
at things that weren't
all that funny.
We ate a lot
of garlic mashed potatoes
and glazed carrots,
although we all agreed
that the carrots needed
to be "burned" a little bit more.
We drank a lot
of nothing stronger than
water or diet Coke.
We had a really fun time.

Thanks girls for including me
in your Girl's Night Out.

Today I am thankful for

the females in my life.
a living prophet on the earth.
a loving Heavenly Father who knows who I am and the counsel that I need to hear.

Sometimes I Feel Old

Sometimes I feel old.
Not a bad kind of old.
Just a this is not where I belong
kind of old.
Like tonight
I went out to dinner
to celebrate September birthdays
with my friends.
We went to the California Pizza Kitchen
at the Tempe Marketplace.
The restaurant was in an area
called the District
and I was definitely out of my age comfort zone.
I felt old
and a little fuddy-duddy
and I was perfectly o.k. with that.
Sometimes it's alright to feel old.

Tomorrow I'll go to Utah
to spend a week with my mother
on her retirement street
with her senior citizen friends
and I will feel young again.

Today I am thankful for

Good Friends to laugh with and to be serious with as well.
Daughters to do fun things with.
A husband that helps with the laundry.

Exclusive Party

Tonight I attended an exclusive party.
At least that's what the sign outside Sunsplash said
when we arrived at my hubby's employee picnic tonight.

When I think of the word exclusive
I conjour up fancy clothes
and fancy food
and something extra special.
Now, I know that's not what the word exclusive means
but that is what I imagine.

Nope.

Not even close.

No fancy food -
however the hotdogs and hamburgers were
grilled to perfection and
the Chili Beans were actually hot this year.
I also enjoyed the unlimited Diet Pepsi.

Definitely no fancy clothes -
I have a hard time appreciating anyone
dressed in a swimming suit.
I just don't think they are all that flattering
on the majority of people and
I really can't imagine walking around in a bikini
in front of a huge crowd of people.
I saw enough exposed skin,
cracks and clevage,
and pot bellies to last me for a long, long time.

The Bingo Games
might have managed to be classified as extra special
if I had been a winner,
but unfortunately I wasn't even close.

This picture of the youngest shaking water
out of his hair is pretty special though.
At least the girls seem to be impressed.



Even though the party didn't live up
to the "exclusive" classification that it boasted.
It was still a fun outing with family and roomates
and I didn't have to cook dinner again!

I enjoyed watching my kids
happily spending time together.

If you were there I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did
and if you weren't I'm sorry you were excluded
which of course is the true definition of the word exclusive.

Today I am thankful for

Kids that like to do things with each other.
My husband's job and the perks that come with it.
Daughters to take classes with.

Today I learned that when you take a picture of a cup of ice with your flash on, the ice doesn't show up.

Holiday Breakfast at IHOP

Once upon a time
on some patriotic national holiday
our family went out to breakfast
at IHOP.
The restaurant was decorated
with Red, White and Blue banners
and flags and stars
and pictures of
all of the presidents of the United States.

It was a long time ago.
I'm pretty sure the last picture
on display was President Clinton.

Our family had very little money,
and we didn't eat out often
so this was something unusual
and fun to do.
Our children were still pretty young,
could probably eat off of the kids menu,
and we had also discovered that
eating out for breakfast
was cheaper than eating out
for lunch or dinner.
The kids were very excited.
This was a splurge
but it was worth it and
we all enjoyed ourselves.

Since that time
any patriotic national holiday that arrives
one of our children (usually the eldest son)
insists that this is the national holiday
when we go out to breakfast
to celebrate.
Every once in a while we agree
and we go.

Things have changed in our household.
We have a little more discretionary money
and children who are no longer young.
Some that no longer live at home,
and some that have money of their own.
Eating out in our family is unfortunately
no longer an unusual occurrence.
It happens way too often,
but if it means I don't have to cook
or listen to family members complain
about my meal choices
I am more than willing to succumb
to the pressure and eat out.

A couple of days ago Son #1 said
"Are we going out to breakfast
on Labor Day?
You know it's a family tradition."
Well, although we eat out often
and had just been out
for my birthday when he asked,
I thought, "You know, we haven't been
out for breakfast in a while.
I'll surprise him and say yes."

My plan was that the hubby and I
and the two children
that reside in our home
would go to IHOP for breakfast.
It would be fun and
and somewhat within our budget.

The boys wouldn't have it.
It is a FAMILY tradition
and the girls should be invited.
I was under the impression that
the oldest daughter was involved
in a family reunion with her in-laws
for the entire Labor Day weekend
so I said she should not be invited.
I didn't want her to feel left out.

We picked up Daughter #2
and went to IHOP.
We squished into a booth
and were being a cozy family
enjoying a family tradition of sorts.
The daughter asks if her sister was invited.
I explain that she is reunioning with the hubby.
Time passes as the boys entertain themselves
throwing straw wrappers at each other
and we chit chat.
The daughter comments,
"The reunion ended yesterday.
She is very upset that
SHE wasn't invited to our FAMILY outing."

Don't you love cell phones
and text messaging
and being able to communicate
where ever and when ever you need to.
Even during a FAMILY breakfast and
especially when it's an
opportunity to get your mother in trouble
with one of your siblings,
which seems to be #1 on my kids list
of fun things to do this week.

Whoops!
That's strike #2
on my good mom chart
in the past couple of days
with the eldest.
She is already convinced that
I said she was my Stupidest child
thanks to child #4.
Which in my own defense
I did not say or even think.
I'm in even more trouble
with her now.

Why is it that sometimes
when we do things with
the best of intentions
they seem to backfire
and blow up in our face?

Happy Holiday at IHOP.

Today I am thankful for

Forgiveness.
3 day weekends where you have time to have fun and accomplish stuff too.
Individuals who have been an influence for good in the lives of my children. Thank you Bro. Stewart.

The new thing I learned today was when your son tells you he is going to let his sister cut his hair you should try harder to discourage him, even though you are pretty sure he isn't going to listen to you , because when it turns out bad, in his opinion, you are going to be the one who gets the blame. Also you should always make sure to ask if picture day at school is coming up any time soon.

The Old Spaghetti Factory

Tonight our family went to
The Old Spaghetti Factory
to celebrate my birthday.

Despite a few roadblocks
on the trip there such as
Arizona Diamondbacks traffic,
one way streets,
no left hand turn lanes,
and downed tree branches
from last night's storm
we all managed to arrive
in one piece.

The Old Spaghetti Factory
is pretty old.
I remember visiting the one
at Trolley Square in Salt Lake City
way back when I was still a teenager
or close to it.
Our family usually manages a
visit there each time we go to Utah,
but not this year.

The oldest son was happy to discover
an Old Spaghetti Factory in Phoenix
a few years ago.
We don't visit often
so it was a good "special occasion" location.

I don't know if I like
The Spaghetti Factory
for the food,
which is good
or for the decor
which is amazing,
in my opinion.

I just think the over-stuffed chairs,
the stained glass windows,
the antique furniture,
and the chandeliers and rod iron decorations
are fun. They make me feel happy.

However, I do enjoy
the Mizitrah and Browned Butter Pasta,
the small loafs of French Bread
and the Spumoni Ice Cream as well.

I enjoyed myself immensely.
Thanks family for going with me.

We are planning a return visit
on the Valley Metro Light Rail
when it starts making runs.
We discovered there is a stop
right in front of the restaurant.
Let us know if you would like
to join us on this adventure.

Today I am thankful for

Family to go out to eat with.

A husband who puts up with my passenger seat driving without complaining.

Beautiful Arizona Sunsets.
My birthmonth present today was going out to dinner.

The new thing I learned today was who Sarah Palin is and why I might want her to be the next Vice President of the United States. She is the govenor of Alaska, a mom of 5 (including a new born with Downs Syndrome and a son serving in Iraq), a wife, a beauty queen, a flute and basketball player, and a moose hunter. I think picking her as a running mate was a good political move for John McCain. Some people who's conversations I ease-dropped on today didn't agree with me.

Birthday Lunch

Today I went to lunch
at the Cheesecake Factory
with a group of friends
to celebrate my birthday
and the birthday
of one of the other friends.



I am not a huge fan
of the Cheesecake Factory
mostly because I am not a huge fan
of fancy or expensive food.

I like to get my bang
for my buck.

The Cheesecake Factory Menu iritates me.

First of all,
it is way too big.

In my opinion, a menu
should not have page numbers.

What a menu should have
is an item listed
with the price
of that item next to it.

In the Cheesecake Factory Menu
they list a category of food
with a range of prices
and then the discription of each item below.

I know they do not list prices
in high class establishments.

However,
I am not a high class person.

I want to know exactly
how much my lunch is going to cost.

(I told my son that tidbit and he told me
he never looks at the price of a menu item
when he orders it.
Hmm, that explains a lot.)

I have always thought the definition
of a rich person was
"Someone who doesn't look at the price tag
before they try on the dress."

I am definitely not,
and never will be,
a rich person.

I will always look.

However, I digress.

I don't love the Cheesecake Factory,
but I loved being there
and eating lunch,
with my friends,
that I do love.

It was wonderful.

It was fun.

It was delicious.

It was entertaining.

It was perfect.

A lot of my friends
are facing challenges
in their lives at the moment
and it meant a lot to me
that they were willing to
spend some of their precious
and limited time
in my company
to celebrate my birthday
with me.

They are the best!

To prove how wonderful they are
they even bought me
TWO rolls
of the very pricey
Press 'n Seal wrap
that I adore.

They must be rich!

They also gave me some money
to buy a specific item
that I am looking for
that I will recognize
when I see it.
As soon as I find it
I will tell them
what they gave me
for my birthday.

One of my friends
was very embarassed
to be giving me cash.
It seemed somewhat
"Grandma-ish" to her.

Apparently she was so embarassed
that she hid my "gift"
- the money -
in her purse
without knowing it.

All my friends were
frantically searching
the waiting area of
the Cheesecake Factory
looking for my "present".
It was quite entertaining.

Earlier I said
that I wasn't rich
and that I never would be
and perhaps
by the above definition
that is true.

However,
Today I think
I have changed
my definition of RICH.

I think the Rich person
is the one who has friends
in their life
that they know love them
and will be there for them
no matter what.

And by that definition
I am the RICHEST person
in the world!

And it doesn't matter
where you are.
If you are with those kind of friends
it's the perfect place.

Thanks, dear birthday buddy, for choosing
where we ate this year
so I didn't have to.

Visiting Teaching + Food = Feelings of Fullness

I think I have one of the greatest visiting teaching companions in the church. She makes me laugh, gives me perspective, worries about the sisters we visit and prays for them, has great insight, is one of the most compassionate people I know, always chooses to drive, buys me a diet Pepsi to end our time together, and is always thinking of creative ways to get our visiting teaching done. I love her Lots!

One of the sisters that we visit isn't always receptive to us coming to her home. If we do get in for a chat she becomes the queen of changing the subject. She is extremely knowledgeable and a bigger talker than I am, if you can believe that, and we always have interesting conversations, just usually not about the lesson topic. I have grown to love this sister as we have visited her and I really want her to have a more positive opinion about the gospel and its teachings. She was offended a couple of years ago and her feelings toward the individuals involved seem to negatively color all of her ideas about the church.

We have found that an invitation to meet for lunch is the best way for us to get together and my companion has set up a standing date with her the 3rd Friday of the month at Sweet Tomatoes. We try up until then to schedule an in home visit, but if we can't succeed we always have our lunch appointment as a back up. My companion also spends Friday afternoons with another sister in the ward who has some health problems and cannot stay home alone. She is part of our 3rd Friday outing and today one of her visiting teachers (who also happens to be my visiting teacher) joined us as well, so we had a really fun, visiting teaching group and discussion.

We were able to share insights and ideas on how knowing that we are daughters of loving heavenly parents helps us in our daily lives. I really needed to be reminded of the truths taught in this message. Things like:

I received my first lessons in the world of spirits from my Heavenly Parents.

Wow, I wish I could remember my Heavenly Father and Mother instructing me and preparing me for my earthly school. What an awe inspiring thought!

"...you need to drink in deeply the gospel truths about the eternal nature of your individual identity and the uniqueness of your personality. You need, more and more, to feel the perfect love which our Father in Heaven has for you and to sense the value he places upon you as an individual."

It is amazing to me how individually and personally my Heavenly Father knows me. My needs, my strengths, my weaknesses, my unique personality. I feel his love and recognize his hand in my life in so many ways. I am so grateful for the gospel truths that I have been taught throughout my life and for the personal testimony of them that has come as I have grown and matured and been blessed with opportunities that have humbled me and helped me to look deeper for the Tender Mercies that are evidence of God's knowledge of and love for me.

One last thought that struck me from this message as I have been pondering the Olympics this week and so many individuals quest for the Gold.

You are a treasured child of the promise. If you will keep the Lord's statutes and commandments and hearken to His voice He has promised that he will make you high above the nations in name and honor and praise.

We can all be winners!

Today I am thankful for

lastings friendships that I have built through Relief Society.
A weekend to look forward to.
Inspired leaders who write visiting teachings messages to teach and uplift me.

My birthmonth present for today was an evening alone with my husband without any kids.