Rejuvenation

What have we been up to this year, you ask?

Tubing at Soldier Hollow

An RV trip to Moab with family and good friends

Photographing the Super Moon!

Enjoying the garden

Doing some serious crocheting 

Celebrating birthdays

And spending almost every weekend since May on our mountain lot retreat.

I guess it's time to rejuvenate this blog since my very good friend has accepted a challenge to try Project 365.  This will be my second attempt.  My last one was more like Project 220!

Reflections of 2010

January - I accepted a new position at work that involved more responsibility. In fact, when I think of spring 2010, work is the primary topic that comes to mind. Thankfully, some major achievements during the year have left the situation feeling more routine and less overwhelming.

February - The most major event that occurred this month is that I finally received my Nook! My kids went in together and bought it for me for Christmas, but I was on a wait list until February. This gadget is now well-used and has changed my life and my reading habits. I'm so happy and thankful to be able to download a book at a moment's notice.

January and February were difficult in terms of finances as our rental property remained vacant. Thankfully at the end of February we found an excellent tenant who we hope will stay after his lease expires this February.

March - I'm mostly blank about March, except that my niece got married and we successfully filed our taxes.

April - Also an unnoteworthy month. I can't think of one thing that happened during April, except that it was spring and I was busy admiring and photographing my garden.

May - We un-winterized our RV and drove east for Memorial Day Weekend, ending up camping near Vernal at Steinaker Reservoir. It was a good first camping trip. We enjoyed the inside of our RV while waiting out a dust storm, we fished, we toured and we ate good food with friends.

June - I traveled to a small town near Baltimore, MD to meet with a new contractor for work. The week after that my husband's family all met in Las Vegas to celebrate his 50th birthday and my mother-in-law's 70th birthday. It was definitely a memorable trip and we were happy to meet two new little nieces and one great-nephew.

One very notable thing that happened in June was that I was able to purchase a Canon T2i DSLR camera because of a cash award I received from work. I am absolutely in love with this camera. Possibly one of the biggest realizations I've had this year is that there is so much more that I need to learn about photography!

July - We hooked up our RV and traveled to Island Park, Idaho to camp at Buttermilk Campground for the 4th of July. My parents accompanied us and we had a wonderful time watching fireworks from the dock over Island Park Reservoir.  We fished at Henry's Lake. This was the first time I really used my new Canon camera and I was very happy with the results.

We also began looking at purchasing membership into the Sourdough Wilderness Ranch. While the combination of our finances and lack of finding the perfect lot did not allow us to buy in this year, it is at the top of our goal list for 2011. My parents did, however, find their perfect lot!

August - We again hooked up our RV and spent a long weekend at Mirror Lake. While we had a great time with family, this trip convinced us even more that we need a private camping area. At times we felt like we were camping in a parking lot. :) I did get some great photos on this trip.

In addition, I got two visits from my daughter who lives in California; one because she missed me and one because it was her 10-year high school reunion. I treasured my time with her very much. I also traveled back to the Baltimore area for work near the end of August.

September - We spent Labor Day weekend camping with my folks on their lot at Sourdough. It gave us a feel for what it will be like to have our own private lot.

I also officially created a room in my house dedicated to sewing and crafting! One other notable thing that happened this month is that I connected with my best friend from junior high through Facebook. I lost touch with her years ago and I am so happy to have found her again.

October - This month brought one of our longest and most enjoyable trips with the RV to date. We took three weeks and made a big circle, beginning with a drive south, spending the night in Las Vegas, then heading on to Malibu to spend time with the LA kids. After a few days, we headed to Three Rivers and then onto visit The Old Corner Saloon in Copperopolis. There we met up with some good friends and headed northwest to the wine country and the Redwoods. We continued north to end up camping for several days at Beachside, Oregon. From there we drove home happy and satisfied and ready to live in a 3000 foot home vice a 23 foot RV again.

November - My mother-in-law came to visit for a long Thanksgiving weekend. We had such a good time with her, including a midnight run on Black Friday to procure a special birthday present for my step-daughter. My mother-in-law is one of the sweetest people I know and I love her very much. Just as her visit came to an end, I got very sick and lost my voice for more than a week. It wasn't a good way to begin the holidays, but by mid-December I finally felt back to normal.

December - This is the easiest month to reflect upon since it just ended. We had a wonderful, if not unusual Christmas. It is the first time in the history of the world that none of my kids were home to celebrate for one reason or another. I made my peace with their situations and decisions and spent a lovely time with just my sweetie and the puppies. I was happy about some of the projects I was able to complete for gifts. Now I'm hoping to surpass my expectations for 2011 holiday giving.

If I do better in 2011 at posting here, I shouldn't have to recap like this next year. Reflections on resolutions are forthcoming.

What Color Flower Are You?

You Are a Blue Flower

A blue flower tends to represent peace, openness, and balance. At times, you are very delicate like a cornflower. And at other times, you are wise like an iris. And more than you wish, you're a little cold, like a blue hydrangea.

What Color Flower Are You?

Weirdly Accurate

What Your Soul Really Looks Like

You are a wanderer. You constantly long for a new adventure, challenge, or even a completely different life. You are a grounded person, but you also leave room for imagination and dreams. You feet may be on the ground, but you're head is in the clouds. You see yourself with pretty objective eyes. How you view yourself is almost exactly how other people view you. Your near future is calm, relaxing, and pretty much what you want. And it's something you've been anticipating for a while now. For you, love is all about caring and comfort. You couldn't fall in love with someone you didn't trust.

Inside the Room of Your Soul

The Story of a House

My grandparents bought this house fifty years ago. Some years later, I was brought to this house as a newborn infant from the hospital. I lived here when my dad was sent to Vietnam and my mom wanted to be close to family. I lived here with my grandmother when I was 20 years old and the mother of a toddler. My son learned to walk in this house. And so did I, as the many 8mm films my grandfather took of me on the front sidewalk will attest to.

I have an abundance of happy memories of this house from when I was young. It seemed much larger than it does now. I can picture my grandmother in her Sunday dress covered by an apron, making file gumbo in the kitchen that seems so tiny now. She somehow found room to feed the whole family. There was always plenty to go around.

When my grandmother could no longer care for the house and yard in 1999, I bought it myself. For the next six years, the people who inhabited this house did not treat it with the love and respect it deserved. It was finally vacated on March 17, 2005. I will not dwell here on how sad the house was the first time I saw it again on that day, but it was the worst the house has ever been.

For the past year and five months, my husband and I have been working to restore this special house. It has dominated our lives and our pocketbooks, but it has been a labor of love. We painted, plumbed, electrified, and scrubbed. We did much more than I can say here. And we learned even more. My relationship with my husband has grown stronger. I have immense respect for him. I have never seen anyone work harder than he has on this house because it was what I wanted. He has never lived here, but a piece of him will stay with this house forever and that is a good thing.

The house now has a new resident. The lease was signed last night. Although I've known the new resident for only a short time, I feel good about leaving the responsibility for this special house in his hands. I know from his profession and circumstances that he is an honorable person and will bring good energy into the house once again.

And now maybe I will have time to knit!

100 Things About Me

1. I finally met my soul mate.
2. We had the perfect wedding on the beach in Maui, barefoot, at sunset, with only two witnesses, a reverend and a photographer.
3. He knows how to make me laugh and I think that’s important.
4. He is the best kisser I’ve ever known.
5. I have six children, but I’ve only given birth to two; I would do anything for them.
6. I have three grandchildren who call me grandma, but they don’t look like me; I would do anything for them.
7. My picture appeared on the front page of the local newspaper in November 2005.
8. I’ve lived in Utah, Germany, Maine, Ohio and Alaska.
9. I am the oldest child of my parents and the oldest granddaughter all the way around.
10. I met my biological father when I was 32; it has been a blessing.
11. I love to say that I have two dads; I love them both the same.
12. I got hit in the mouth with a baseball bat when I was in 5th grade.
13. My parents wanted to sue the elementary school, but I wouldn’t let them.
14. I have had either a partial plate or a bridge to replace my top four front teeth ever since.
15. It was the worst thing that ever happened to me until the year 2000 when something worse happened.
16. I’ve almost always had long hair.
17. I used to be a brunette, but now I’m a blonde.
18. I once spent a summer prospecting for gold in the mountains of Idaho, north of Boise.
19. I've had five different last names during my lifetime - not all of them were due to marriage.
20. I claim no particular religion or political affiliation.
21. I am constantly looking for motivation to get fit and healthy.
22. I love to knit.
23. I love to crochet.
24. I learned to knit and crochet when I was nine.
25. I love to quilt.
26. I love to cross stitch.
27. I love to sew.
28. I love all fiber arts.
29. I am more proficient at some of these things than at others.
30. I’d rather think of these things as my art rather than crafts or hobbies.
31. I love to give gifts I’ve made with my own two hands.
32. I have crafting ADHD - I am a great starter, but a horrible finisher.
33. I have never worried about not having enough to do. If I didn't need an income to live, I would totally be able to keep myself busy and productive with all of my interests.
34. I like to write, but I think my daughter is a better writer than me.
35. I have a very demanding job that I like, but I’d rather be home knitting.
36. I love to dance and I always have.
37. My sisters and I used to turn the music up loud and dance when my parents were gone.
38. My sister just younger than me has ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).
39. I miss her.
40. My other sister and I no longer speak to each other.
41. I love photography and I have thousands of pictures.
42. I don’t like pictures of myself.
43. My favorite things to photograph are my children and sunsets.
44. I like to scrapbook.
45. I’ve always been shy. I am an INFJ Myers-Briggs personality type.
46. Some people mistake my shyness for snobbiness.
47. When I was in 6th grade, I went to five different schools; the other kids used to say I looked like Susan Dey.
48. I wasn't very popular in high school. I'm often surprised when people remember me, because I don't remember anyone from high school.
49. I love Sex and the City even though I’m nothing like any of the characters.
50. I’m addicted to HGTV, DIY and the Food Network.
51. I would be a professional student if I could afford it.
52. I never got my degree despite the fact that I had a full ride scholarship.
53. Family comes first.
54. I am a blend of 25% French Cajun, 25% German and 50% Dutch.
55. My maternal grandfather was the Cajun and he was always one of my most favorite people.
56. My grandfather was Catholic and my grandmother was Mormon.
57. I am not a Mormon, even though I live behind the Zion Curtain.
58. I hate polygamy, but I like HBO's new series Big Love.
59. I believe in aging gracefully. I would never consider plastic surgery.
60. I don’t wear makeup, but I do take care of my skin.
61. I keep my fingernails short and unpainted.
62. I love pedicures and soft feet.
63. The only jewelry I wear is my wedding ring, diamond earrings and a toe ring.
64. I love houseplants and I have a lot of them.
65. I don’t think I have a green thumb, but I know which plants I can grow and which ones I kill.
66. I have pots of wave petunias and impatiens on my porch.
67. I worked at a fast food restaurant when I was 16. I promised myself I would never work around food again and I haven’t.
68. I worked as a Judge’s in-court clerk for about 8 years.
69. I swore people in.
70. I issued warrants of arrest.
71. I sent people to jail.
72. I didn’t always agree with the Judge, but I always respected him.
73. It was the most interesting job I’ve ever had, but I’m glad I don’t work there anymore.
74. I can’t drive long distances because I tend to fall asleep.
75. When I was a baby my mom used to put me in the car and drive around to get me to fall asleep.
76. I hate to fly, but I do several times per year for my job.
77. I’m not really afraid of flying, but I hate being in such a small space with so many people and I hate rough take-offs and landings. I once threw-up on people sitting on either side of me during a particularly rough landing. I felt embarrassed at the baggage claim.
78. I love to read.
79. My favorite color is blue.
80. I HATE onions of any kind, but I don’t mind onion powder.
81. I love garlic.
82. I once saw a moonbow.
83. I collect inspirational quotes; I write them in small notebooks. My husband reads one or two quotes from my notebooks each day.
84. I like movies with happy endings.
85. I am a Leo and everyone who asks is surprised when I tell them.
86. I never want to own a white car.
87. I’m afraid of heights.
88. I don’t take any medications, but I take a lot of vitamins.
89. I love yards sales and thrift shops.
90. I’ve always wished I could sing and draw, but I can’t do either.
91. I love people watching, especially at airports.
92. I didn’t start drinking coffee until I was 30.
93. I started drinking coffee once when I was camping because I liked it with Irish Crème. After that I drank it every morning. I love to go camping and boating.
94. I once witnessed an autopsy.
95. I was dating a medical examiner.
96. I have been a second wife three times.
97. I am a closet hippie.
98. I have never smoked cigarettes even though I have lived around smokers most of my life.
99. I once won a pound of gold from a car dealership when I bought a Toyota; I ended up getting around $4,000.00 for it.
100. Yes, I will do a shot of tequila with you.