A Really Great Man

Today's entry is a sad one. For 2 1/2 years, Officer Daniel B. Gilbert has been fighting Lou Gehrigs Disease, and until recently, was doing a good job from what I've heard.
When Dave woke me up for his lunch break this morning, he paged me and told me that Mom came home from Church early because Dan Gilbert had passed away, within the hour.
I came upstairs to get the information, and as the day progressed, the full story began to unfold.
Apparently, Dan had slipped into a coma last night around 3am. Doctors said he'd be in the coma for about a week, but at 10:30am, this morning, he passed away. Not only was Dan a good Police Officer, but he was our Home Teacher, and friend. I can remember the jokes about the traffic lights on the "cruise" he and I had, arguing over weather the light was red, yellow, or orange.
Watching him race his wife to our house to home teach us, and just talking with him for a while, it was fun. Dan was a really good man, and will deeply be missed by all.

A Long Needed Roadtrip

Yesterday, Dave and I borrowed Marsh's car and headed of to spend the day in Salt Lake City. When we got there, we went to Hogle Zoo, and spent three hours just walking around and looking at the different animals. When we couldn't walk much anymore, we got in the car and headed to the Gateway Mall, thinking maybe we'd catch a movie.
None of the movies really started until around 4:30, so we bagged the movie and just walked around. (We are a bit crazy!) We looked through whatever store caught our attention, got smoothies at Ben & Jerry's then got my Build A Bear re-stuffed and purchased another BAB.
When we'd decided it was time to hit the road, we took off......and got caught in RUSH HOUR! We finally got off the road in Layton where we stopped at Red Robin for dinner. We then, started heading across the interstate to Krispy Kream where we got FRESH glazed donuts.
I drove most of the day, and really enjoyed the one on one time with Dave. Nobody really called us, there were no distractions, and it was just awesome. I know we probably shouldn't have gone to Salt Lake, but to just get away for a day with my husband, it was the best thing we've done all summer.

Creativity

Today's photo is of a new design I'm learning on my Crocheting. It's called the Cross Stitch, and though it looked a bit difficult, it turned out to be pretty easy. I've got a book of different stitches that I'm going to try to make samples of. I've already tried 4 of them, and can only really do 2 because they're the easiest. I know with more practice and dedication, I can get better.
I get a lot of crap thrown at me because I know how to crochet and I'm young, but I really don't care because it's excellent Therapy. I have found that when I'm stressed or depressed, all I have to do is sit down with some yarn and a hook, and lose myself in the project I'm doing and hours later, I'm doing just fine. Once I get better with my projects, I want to start making lapghans and throws, and donate them to the local nursing homes. I am really beginning to enjoy crocheting, and will learn to knit soon.

Gambling in Utah

Today's photo was actually taken at a Rest Area on our way to Salt Lake City yesterday. As Mom and I were heading to the restroom, we saw a vending machine and a water machine, and found the sign "Lotsa Luck!". I thought it was pretty funny, and had to snap a picture of it with my phone. Next time I'm going to be sure I take my camera, the photos might be better.

A Surprisingly Good Trip....

Today Mom, Heather, Chas and I took Dad to Salt Lake City so that "The Hobbit" could take him to the Airport in the morning to fly to Houston. I have had my reservations on going with Heather's recent attitude, but went anyway. We got along amazingly well, and there really wasn't any fighting.
When we got down there, we headed to the Mall by the Chuck Arama that we were going to meet "The Hobbit " at. After the potty breaks, and being stopped by some guy trying to sell me manicure things (they really don't take NO for an answer, after I told him I wasn't buying anything, that I have no money, he asked when I would have money.) I headed over to BUILD A BEAR WORKSHOP.
Yes, I might be crazy, but I like to "immortalize" special events/people in my life, with the animals from BABW. I got one for when Marsh and Em were Married, one for MY Wedding day, one for our anniversary, One in Memory of Grandpa and now, this recent one was in memory of Grandma W. This was given a lot of thought, and I got this particular bear because of the "Stitching" effect on the ears, and the patch Heart. The scrubs symbolize her love for working at the Hospital, even if it were in the Gift Shop.

After Goodbyes were said, we hit the road. Heather changed her mind and wanted to drive, so to save a fight and ruin a good day, I let her drive, and as we were heading out of town, I snapped this photo from the car. Both of these photos were taken with my Cell, I'm surprised they turned out as well as they did.

Rather than take over driving like I said I would, I let Heather and Chas take turns driving home while Mom and I sat in the back. It was a good day all in all. I hope Dad has a safe trip, this is his first time flying since He and Mom were married.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM

Obviously, this blog entry is dedicated to the woman who brought me into this life, and who can quite easily take me out of it if she wanted to. You guessed it, my Mother. Today was her birthday, and because she wanted to, all of the kids here in town were treated, by her and Dad, to a dinner at Texas Roadhouse.
I don't know what they did all day, nor do I really want to know, but I hope they had fun whatever it was they did. Anyway, the original plan was to go to a movie as a family, but Tucker would have been excluded so we went to dinner instead. Mom was going to take us all to Red Lobster, but Marsh and Emily don't like Red Lobster, so we went for Texas Roadhouse. I must say that it was a fun dinner, and the only thing missing was Dan and Chrystal.
When Dinner was over, Tucker flirted with the waitresses a bit before we left. We then went to Wal Mart, and then home. It was a good night and mom had a happy birthday. She loved how it went, and enjoyed the fact that her kids got along all together.

Quality Nephew Time

Today I got the privilege of watching Tucker while Emily went to work. We got him close to 8:30am, and he was quite happy. Then, he decided he was hungry and tired, so we tried to feed him a blend of peaches and rice cereal. He decided he didn't like that so much so I packed him up and headed over to Emily so she could feed him. By the time we got to the first intersection, he was out cold. Just to insure he'd stay asleep, we drove a few minutes or so, then headed home without taking him to Emily.
Gus woke him up when we got there due to his barking, but he just lied there. We then went for another drive with Mom and Dad to prepare for BUNCO and drop Duster off at the groomers. (I might say he's looking pretty spiffy!) We got home and put Tucker in his toy after Emily came and fed him. I must say, he had fun playing in it for about an hour while "Uncle Bub" (Dave) looked on. He only got fussy when he was left alone in it in the Livingroom.
He's a good kid, and I love it when I get to spend time with him, he's so happy. I hope I get to spend more of these kind of days with him, and look forward to when he's old enough and I can take him to play at the park, or to the zoo. I will spoil my nieces and nephews!

Grandmas and Goodies

Todays Photo is of mom "eating" Tucker. Emily and Marsh came over for a bit. Emily wants me to babysit tomorrow (YAY!) while she works. Mom was holding and playing with Tucker, and I snapped this photo, it's why you should never let a grandparent hold a grandchild when they're hungry. Actually, Tucker had lots of fun and was laughing and just enjoying himself. He is such a happy, spoiled baby. He is heavy too, weighing in at almost 18lbs.

When they left, I indulged myself with a pint of Ben&Jerry's Phish Food. I normally get the B&J Karmel Sutra, but wanted a little something new. It is a chocolate, marshmallow, caramel Ice cream with Fudge Fish. I must say, it was good considering I ate the whole pint. The Fish, they were a bit TOO chocolatey, so I didn't eat them. I left them on the lid while I was locked in the computer room. Since there's 2 computers now and a printer almost as big as I am, it got really hot in there and the fish melted. Looks a bit nasty don't it.

Workings of a Crazy Woman

So after the threat of the computer being taken away from everyone, and knowing how much I rely on it to keep track of child care and post these blog entries (I think I'm doing a pretty good job on that one!) I got a crazy idea, and wasn't sure it would work. Dad cleaned off the computer desk, and I thought it'd be clever of me to see if I could set my computer up and tap into his internet until we got an adapter or wireless card of our own.

Dad agreed to it, and we set the computer up. Now if he decides to take the computer away from everyone, I still have access to mine, and can still do the things that I need to. I can also respect dad's wishes in the sense that I have a password set on our computer that people need in order to get online. That's today's photo of the day, what the computer desk now looks like. I realized after I set it up that I've grown use to the larger screen, but at least my computer is being used as something more than a paperweight now. That makes me happy. I'll try to get more creative for the photo of the day!

Sunday Evening

Today Dave and I went for a walk with Mason, Merlyn and Karma. Dave has little patience with the dogs, so I suggested he take Karma and work with her a little bit. She walked with him and listened to him pretty well, then we got a little brave. I let Mason and Merlyn off their leashes at the park, and let them run a bit. Karma wanted to join in on the fun, but rather than unhook her leash, we let it trail behind her as she ran with the boys. She had a lot of fun, and didn't do bad listening until she found the sprinklers at the school.
After 10 minutes of eating the water shooting out of the sprinklers, Karma decided it was time to listen and ran up to Dave. Mason and Merlyn, still off the Leash, headed home on command, and when we got there, I got this photo. It wasn't until after I uploaded them that I found how Merlyn kind of "popped" on the photo. I thought it was pretty cool myself, maybe, just maybe I should look into a better camera, and possibly photography classes.

Why Do I Do It

Today I had a "color" appointment with a Mary Kay consultant. I thought, what have I got to lose? Do you think I could remember all the steps I took to get the make up looking like it did, um.....NO.
Anyway, when it came to getting the colors picked out, I got a wild hair, and chose green. I don't know if it was because my shirt was green, or what the deal was, but I don't think it turned out that bad. It's not a color I'd wear very often, but it was an experiment anyway. This is the first time I have EVER put eye shadow on my lower eyelid, and I don't think I'll do it again. It is just too weird for me, and I feel like it's way too much make up. Dunno, feel free to let me know what you think about it.

Reflection

As you know, lately I've been going through old photos, and feeling a little "nostalgic". Looking at todays' photo, I got to thinking of how I wish I could experience it all over again, to go back to my childhood when I didn't have a care in the world. This photo was taken when I was a year old. I look at the smile that I had in that photo and began to realize, I don't smile much anymore, why could that be??

It's funny how, when you're a little kid, you can't wait to grow up and do things that adults can do, thinking your life would be so much better. Then, when you're older, you want to shed all responsibilities and get back to your childhood. I know this isn't true for everyone, but I have a lot of those days. Anyway, this is today's Photo of the Day. Until further notice, this'll be the last entery in my blog as we've had the computer restricted from use. If you need to contact me, please call me.

Fun Times in Eigh Mile

Lately, I've been doing a lot of thinking about Camping, and I kept coming back to my years spent at Girl's Camp. Though for a week during the summer, I had to wear nothing but long pants, I totally enjoyed myself. I remember staying up late singing camp songs, playing pranks on the girls that were there for the first time, and my all time favorite was getting out of the shower (heated by campfire), opening the door to head back to camp and come face to face with a doe and her baby.
Unfortunately, today's photo isn't of that, it's of the last year I spent there. I had been bugging the Priesthood leaders whom were up there, and they'd had enough and tried to tape me to the pole of the lodge. I was shocked at how much of a cruddy job they did, as it was too easy to get out of, but it was fun. I must say that I went out with a bang. Someday I'd love to go back, we'll see.

No Wonder

Today's photo is of Merlyn. I read somewhere it doesn't matter how old a dog is to tape their ears, as long as there's not a permanent "Fold". The breeder I got Merlyn from said his ear leather is too thick to stand on it's own, but I figured hey, what the heck, why not just give it a shot.
So, we got some breathable tape, and some paper towels, and I taped Merlyn's ears up. They're supposed to be like that for 2 weeks, then I change the bandages and start over until the ears stand on their own. We'll see how patient we can be with this, so far Merlyn is handling it pretty well, with a few head shakes here and there.



I also taped them up to take the ear off of his neck, the poor guy kept scratching at it because the ear was tickling his neck. He has scratched a hole in his neck and there's no longer hair in that area. I'll post photos of his progress as it goes.

Needed Motivation

Ok, I've thought long and hard about this, and I've decide to follow Chrystal's example by doing a "Photo of the Day" on my blogs, to try to put entries in each day. Today is the issue I've been having with my toe. Last week, as I was cutting my toenail, I cut a little too deep, and ended up with an ingrown toenail. I've soaked it at least 3 times a day, tried to keep it from being smacked or bumped into and then a few days ago, Patty and Kevin stopped by on their way home to Rupert. I told her about my toe, and she suggested I grate a potato, and put it on my toe, then wrap it with a band aid. I am now on day 2 of this "home remedy" and just barely able to get some of the infection out. The pressure is slowly going away, and beginning to clear up a little.

Yes, it looks gross, but most of it is because of the dried on potato.