When the Ladies Get Together...

Wouldn't it be nice if we could

all get away whenever life gets a little stressful at home? Well, that is just what prompted my mother and sister to come to California and relax!! Mom has
been suggesting a Girls' Trip for
a couple of years now,

but it takes my sister to get things going in the right direction! She did a great job.

We shopped locally at the malls, then went to LA to see the stage production of Wicked at the Pantages Theatre. Kairle Ann's hubby scored us seats in the 2nd row...center stage!! The next day, we drove to San Diego, stayed 2 nights at a nice hotel and shopped and ate beautiful food. The big finale was having my evil big sister drop me off at the Amtrak Station in Oceanside. Just kidding...the train ride was just another breezy way to spend my mini-vacation. I hated to see my ladies leave California!!

(click on the pictures to see larger image)

Cream cheese Mints

When James and I were married, I had a bad habit of not sending Thank You notes to my gift-givers. I'm not quite that girl anymore, but I hope that my lacking etiquette didn't offend too many. James and I were appreciative of everything we got for our wedding--especially the beautiful wooden plaque with our photo and the Los Angeles Temple. I had to throw that in, because the card had fallen off, and we couldn't even thank you---even IF I had used my engraved Thank You notes. But that is not exactly why I'm posting today. I have another tried-and-true wedding gift that I have to share my feelings about. The gift-givers were ladies in my home ward at church (I still have their gift card). I love these ladies, and that they thought my husband and I would start out our marriage with homemade candy makes me appreciate them more! Thank you: Lois Axford, Barbara Murdoch, Joan Walters and Susan Walters. The book? Candymaking, by Ruth Kendrick and Pauline Atkinson. It has been a treasure. Yesterday, my girls were wanting a mint we had made last Easter. I said I'd find the recipe and it was theirs for the making! We made Cream Cheese Mints. So simple. Even if the recipe says to use a wooden spoon, a little patience and a KitchenAid mixer together does the work for you. And we double the recipe every time. Since Monica was the instigator, she was the one to finish off the product by rolling the little mint balls in sugar (I pressed them with the fork). I love that my girls relate this recipe to home. My childhood memories of the little Cream Cheese Mints goes back to wedding receptions with BYU Wedding Punch. That punch is hauntingly delicious...especially when it is SKY BLUE.

Christmas highlights 2008

Here is a look at some of the highlights of our Christmas!

In an effort to be even more adorable, Jenna tried to give HERSELF bunny-ears.

Brielle claimed to be more chilled than both grandparents combined. It was just her excuse to wear her new gifts and sip her tea from Gma Terry.

We subjected the grandparents to some arduous vision tests.

Monica was pretty successful at hiding from the camera..... here is her elbow...

...and here she is --leaving the room quickly...!

I was concerned that Amanda wasn't captured in any photos....because I could only find her knees in this picture..... but then I remembered "Christmas Dinner"! She may not like cameras, but she is sooo pretty when you can catch her!

Ta-da!!

We pretty much DEMAND that family and friends give us
Stephen's Gourmet Hot Cocoa.
This is from the Oaks family.
They know we love the Chocolate Mint the best!

Rounding out pre-Christmas 2008

It's December 23rd, and most of you are snuggling into your Christmas peace. Not at our house! As a gaggle of girls, the 5 of us headed to the mall last night. James had a bunch of work to finish up. He bowed out gracefully as he handed me fistfuls of cash. Truth be told, he dislikes the whole "Mall Scene"....but he really had a lot of office work to enter into the computer.

If you haven't seen it, the Oaks Mall is the prettiest mall I've ever seen. It just went through a gazillion-dollar makeover (to woo the new Nordstrom -I suppose), and it shows. It was a pleasure to walk around. I only lost my Mom-patient Superpowers twice. That last straw was a doozy, and ended with a quick exit of the store (nothing purchased), and a more brusque dash to the car. Maybe I didn't get the message across to the 7 year-old?

Today we took James to a more comfortable shopping location. Everything went much smoother. Thanks, James!!

We still need that few hours to shop tomorrow, none-the-less.

Tomorrow we celebrate not only the birth of our Savior, but also the birth of our favorite 11 year old, panda-lovin' daughter! The next day is also James' birthday.
James' parents will be driving through forecast rain to be with us.

That is a LOT of celebrating!

James

When you don't have your own accident-prone 9 year old son, what do you do to pass the time?

Well, us 5 ladies sit back and wait for the man of the house to hurt himself, so we can quiz him on the events that led up to the wounding. Usually he is unaware of his gaping wounds, but this time he couldn't brush it off!On Saturday the 8th of November, James was Four-Wheeling with boys and men from church. James crashed big time. He got hurt big time. Did he go to the doctor? No. That would have been nice, but inconvenient for Mr.Toughy.His self-diagnosis was 1) bruised ribs from hitting the handlebar (which bent) and 2) a badly scraped arm from the tire's sandy wheel. He may have been right about the bruised ribs; but later realized that it was the EXHAUST PIPE which damaged his arm. I have been designated as his nurse. I wish I had a real medical professional in the house! In spite of what you may have heard, husbands and wives should NOT play doctor.I also wish I had photos to prove what a knucklehead he is being for not seeking medical advice, but I know many of you have weak stomachs.

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On a bright note, James has been a very good boy--it appears--- and is now in our Bishopric at church. He is a 2nd counselor to the Bishop. We are ready to support him in this new adventure!
First on my list: get the girls to church on time. I'll need an army of angels on my side.
Second on my list: to have a traditional Sunday Dinner worthy of a 2nd counselor, waiting for him when he returns home from a busy day of meetings. Grilled cheese sandwiches just won't cut it anymore. Okay--- so they rarely came close to his mother's Sunday Dinners.

California's (and the world's) big problem

Okay. If you have a hard time trusting politicians like I do, then you can skip this post because it really only matters to us Californians.

Or does it?

I think the rest of the country needs to be focused on the Prop 8 situation.

I happen to be a big fan of traditional marriage. I just ask that the definition of marriage strictly be the union of a man and woman.

That is all!



Here is a blurb that I didn't write, but feel like I did. I'm so dissapointed in the judges that overturned the original majority vote against gay marriage in 2000.



Please vote YES on Proposition 8: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Over 61% of Californians already voted in 2000 to reaffirm the traditional definition of marriage as only between a man and a woman with Prop 22. It is unfair that four activist judges, in a 4 - 3 decision, ignored the will of the people. Thankfully we have the opportunity to vote yes again to marriage between a man and a woman. Prop 8 is not an attack on the gay community. It is not bias against a gay or lesbian lifestyle. It does not discriminate against or take any rights away from gays or lesbians. Under California law, “domestic partners shall have the same rights, protections, and benefits” as married spouses. Prop 8 simply reaffirms traditional marriage between a man and a woman. It preserves marriage and the traditional family. There are gays and lesbians in support of Prop 8. Why? Perhaps because they were raised in a home with a loving mother and a loving father and realize the importance of a traditional family. It takes a man and a woman to make a child. It makes sense that the ideal situation for children is to be raised by a father and a mother. Although death, divorce, or other circumstances sometimes prevent this, studies show it’s what is best for children. Please join me in considering the rights of children and what is best for them. Please vote yes on Proposition 8.



My friend, Jennifer McLeod, wrote this to the editor of our local paper. It got published, and she is receiving a lot of horrible backlash. I don't want to go into that, but suffice it to say that total strangers opposed to her view were vicious.

This is what brings out the pitbull in me, and why I'm bringin' politics into my blog.

After Election Edit: YAY!!! Prop 8 passed!!

After Election Edit: YAY!!! Prop 8 passed!!

After Election Edit: YAY!!! Prop 8 passed!!

A "Lion Cut"

Want to see something funny?

Our long-haired orange tabby cat was needing a bath.

I know I certainly didn't want to attempt the washing because she is a psycho cat when she is being forced against her will.

I took her to the groomers today. The groomer suggested beforehand that we give her a "Lion Cut" to help her manage all that long, shedding hair. Sign me up!


This is what we took in to the groomer.



This is what came back!



My darling daughters are appalled and embarrassed. The cat seems humiliated.

I am happy.

Story #2...I had no idea you would comment about this sad-looking cat, so I am here to clear up some things.

I was raised to believe cats never needed baths unless they encountered a skunk....however...

In her 5-ish years of her life, she had only been to the vet once. We don't know what happened to her, but she got so sick and was having kidney failure. She recovered on her own, but has since become a 120 year old cat. I mention this tiny tale to explain that she (on top of being a little fat) is not nimble enough to reach around her with that tongue.

Although she is an indoor cat, we let her outside to wander the yard a few minutes at a time. She must be picking up stupid fleas, and the fleas always show up this time of year in hordes! Fleas = 'flea dirt'. Ick. I can't even believe I can post this... yet this explains another reason for giving a cat a "Lion Cut"!

I would imagine a more cooperative cat would have achieved a smoother trim---but not in my cat's case. She chose to be trouble and got punished for it. I don't care. She may choose to be a better customer next time -- if she wants a prettier 'do'.

James adores her. Which is weird, because he isn't really a 'pet' kind of person. As I type this, that cat is at his feet, pretending to sleep. Once in a while she will pry her eyes open enough to shoot daggers at me; but I know she will thank me later.