spring has sprung

I've taken some 'down-time' and, of course, regret doing so as SO many things have happened around here! Sometimes LIFE gets in the way - oh well, life goes on for sure.

We're doing GREAT - 'spring has sprung', day light savings day has arrived (love, love, love) and the trees are budding. We usually get unexpected snow-storms from time to time - and I'm sure we have a surprise or two left before summer sets in. I love this time of year - there's a 'newness' about everything that is really exciting. You have to live through a winter in Idaho to truly appreciate good weather. This year was an exception as we had very little snow and cold weather as was the case with most of the country. This was the first year since moving to Idaho that I did not miss winter - I loved the bare roads and mild temps which tells me I wouldn't mind moving to a milder climate. I still love the slow-paced life and open spaces however but you know, there's nothing like a good old blizzard!!!

We had some family-drama that smacked me upside the head about three months ago. Things do happen for a reason and one person involved is moving on and healing beautifully, I'm happy to say.

I'm still taking photos - haha - surprised? I came home from a meeting a week ago and Bob said, "Guess what?" I'm always afraid to ask, "What?" But this time it was a great surprise! "Jerry called (BYU-Idaho) and wants to buy another 20 photos for the college!!!" Not a pretty visual - but I was jumping up and down for joy - at least my spirit was - actually, I must confess, my spirit was doing flips!!!! That makes me pretty happy. I will keep you posted on the outcome. Jerry said something to the effect that they have been 'stealing' some of the other photos and putting them around to fill in bare-spaces and thought many of the new ones would be hung in the testing center - but, don't quote me on that.

We've been out taking photos since the temps have gotten warm and we ran across some amazing places - one in particular that I'm especially excited about - a "antique car graveyard"! Stay-tuned for some exciting scenes from our next adventure! I can't wait.

I do have to share an exiting blog post from my son Tyler. It made my heart happy to read it! 5 years ago he suffered a stroke at an early age and has been fighting his way back ever since. He's always kept a good attitude about what happened to him but reading this post confirmed in my mind what a strong and positive person he truly is! When he told me about this experience, I encouraged him to write it down - it truly is uplifting and discovered he's a really good writer as well! Click HERE to read!

Be back soon! COMING SOON: UPDATE HOLLYWOOD - GRIF'S BIG INTERVIEW!

just a thot

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

HAPPY b.i.r.t.h.d.a.y. TYLER . . .

valentine's day - 2012

YES, it's Valentine's Day and time to get busy . . .

This is dangerous for me - baking and chocolate and sugar . . .

Okay, just ONE chocolate/cherry . . .

What Valentine's Day is all about . . . but come to think about it, everyday should be about LOVE . . .

Oh yummmmm, come to think about it, these are one of my favorite cookies - peanut butter . . .

Got an extra BIG cookie sheet from Bob not long ago (so big, it doesn't fit in one of my ovens) and bakes a lot of cookies all at once . . .

This ONE I saved FOR YOU . . .

Bob loves Adele so I bought him her CD so he can listen in his car and office - trying to convince him iPod is the way to go - but still is not converted . . .

Getting ready to head over to Grandma's with some sweet treats and a few gifts for 'my valentine' . . .

I'm NEVER ALONE - Bella, my assistant, just waiting for me to drop anything so she can taste-test . . .

All done and I only ate a fewwwwwwww (they'll never miss them!) . . .

We had a very simple and quiet Valentine's Day - Bob working and when we finally checked out some eating-places, they were FULL so we headed to Taco Time (yes, you heard it) and had pulled pork burritos! Shortly after, my Valentine showered (and I mean showered) me with gifts! Who said Christmas was over!!!!!

I heard of a few families who lost loved ones today - makes me sad and MORE thankful than ever to have my special family and friends close AND to never take them for granted!

Hope you had a wonderful day!

i miss my dad, h.u.g. yours!

i have a trainer and other such nonsense

Yes! You heard it right - trying to wrap my mind around it myself. A trainer that's going to make my body hurt in a way it's not hurt in a long, long time. Wait! Don't you call that torture? Yes, I think so and that is what's going to happen to me in a few days and she's going to get paid to do it! I told her to go easy for the first little while - but I hear she's ruthless! I'll keep you posted as to my progress and I hope there is progress and not the obvious demise - ha! Oh, and by the way, it's not one-of-those New Years resolutions - just a continuation (or the next big push) of last summer's diet/exercise program. I took a break during the holidays and am now ready to continue to the next phase - weight training, cardio and no sugar!

I do have to comment on the weather as it's 'weird' - really 'weird' around here. There is absolutely no snow here and it's mid-January - unbelievable. We had a major winter storm advisory heading directly at us - the clouds were dark and thick and you could just feel the snow coming, not to mention 40 mph winds howling outside. Not even a flake of snow - not even! Rexburg to Pocatello got nothing - everything around us got bombed! In over 30 years of living here, I've never seen anything like it.

We're heading south Saturday to a baby blessing - our little miracle baby Theo will be blessed Sunday. I'm pretty darn excited but so excited that our little Theo has beat all the odds and concerns of the doctors and is thriving and growing so big and healthy. His family has done a great job of feeding and caring for this little cutie and will soon be playing and teasing his big brothers - you can count on that! Our local weather man is not being very positive as to the weather this Saturday (when we'll be traveling) - saying that from Pocatello and southward is going to be a nightmare - possible road closures! We'll see about that!!!!

Time to head to bed - yes, I'm trying to retrain my brain/body to go to bed early - it's a struggle as my favorite time of day is NIGHT - it's quiet and a brain can think! But, I'm trying to make good and positive changes in my life and this is one of them - 8 hours of sleep every night!

winter, oh winter - where art thou?

JOURNALING - coming today!