My Bliss

The day before Thanksgiving was a busy one.  We were hosting my family this year, and even though everyone brought something, we still had lots of work to do.  The boys retreated into their caves for the day while the girls and I got to work.  I had so much fun cooking with them.  We turned up the tunes and danced and cooked the day away.  I kept thinking about how happy I was cooking with them.

We made the pretzel jello crust.  Cornbread for the stuffing.  Cranberry Sauce.  Brined the turkey.  Made place cards and cornucopias.  Set the table.  There was a bit of drama when I assigned Josh to finish the place cards when Emma went outside to play for a minute.  Emma wanted the WHOLE job.  We need to cook together more often!

It was a great day!

Caroline the pretzel smasher!

Emma dancing with her eggs

Super girl!

I loved Caroline's self portrait

Emma had never seen an uncooked turkey before!  She was slightly appalled!

A Sandwich Maybe...But a Sweet Potato?

Many years ago (like 15 or so) I remember watching a Martha Stewart episode in which she gushed about the deliciousness of sweet potatoes.  I remember her saying that she was so fond of them that she quite often baked them in foil and then put a couple in her pocket so that she could nibble them on an airplane.

I giggle about this every Thanksgiving while the sweet potatoes are passed around. I snicker at the image in my head of Martha seated in first class nibbling her foil wrapped goodness.  Wouldn't that be a sight to behold!  I think of the person seated next to her as well, wondering why on earth Martha brought her own sweet potato on the airplane.  REALLY MARTHA???  Hopefully you, too, will smile a bit as the sweet potatoes are passed your way this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Josh starts the "Occupy CTR 8" movement

Better Than Christmas

We could have told Caroline that she'd have to skip Christmas this year, but she could still apply for her own library card, and she would have been pleased as punch.  She's been looking forward to getting her own card as soon as she turned 5.  Fortunately her dad took her on a sneak out and got the job done.  She's thrilled!

My Shopping Nightmare

Love this look...but where to find all of it....and would it really fit me?!

Matt forwarded an invite to me for a holiday party.  He had no idea that doing something as simple as that would send me into a tailspin.  If I tell you that it is a party at the multi-million dollar home of his CEO, can you relate?  If you have absolutely no idea of what frenzy I am talking about then you are the well dressed woman I envy.  You are the woman who has a closet full of stylish clothes, and loves to shop for said wardrobe.  You are the type of woman that can walk into any number of stores and leave with armloads full of fabulous items.  You are the woman in which clothes drape as fabulously on you as the store mannequin.  Me...not so much.

I really don't like to shop.  It's a waste of time because I could spend hours wandering stores looking for the perfect item, and for whatever reason come home with nothing.  I can think of four hundred things I would rather be doing than dashing in and out of dressing rooms.  I would do all of my shopping online if I could get away with that.  Only problem with shopping online is that the item usually looks so much more fabulous on my computer screen than on my body.  You see, I'm short. At 5'2" it's hard to find things that look as great as on the twiggy model.  The sleeves or the hemline are usually a couple of inches too long which requires some type of alteration which is really more work than I'm willing to put into clothing my body. Don't even get me started on the "petite" section.  If I was 5'2" and 98 pounds, or wanted to dress like my grandma, I just might find something worth wearing there.

So to find something specific for a specific event makes me crazy.  Annual family pictures, holiday parties, reunions...they all fall under the same stressful shopping category for me.  If I could pay someone to shop for me I would.  That's how much I really don't enjoy it.  A better option would even be to find a website in which I could type in my exact measurements and have the clothes custom fit for me.  Now there's a million dollar idea...one that probably already exists!?

I know I'm not the only person that feels this way.  But, I sure do feel alone in a sea of well dressed beauties!  Guess I should stop complaining and get to work.  I've got some shopping to do!

A Promise Kept

Four years ago we journeyed down to Springdale, UT. for the Butch Cassidy Race.  It's either a 5K or 10K from Springdale to Grafton (a ghost town).  We enjoyed the trip so much we vowed to make it a yearly tradition.  Unfortunately life happened, and we spent 3 years away with other obligations.

Four years ago it was my first 10K.  My first time running a race longer than 3 miles.  This year it was Will's turn.  A few months ago he reminded us of our promise to return yearly, and chided us for failing to do so. Even though Matt had some pretty big speaking engagements sandwiched around the race weekend in London and Orlando, he promised Will that we would go.  Fortunately for us London was cancelled a few weeks prior which made the promise a little easier to keep.

Me and Will at 10K start

The family that runs together....

Matt, Josh, Emma, and Caroline at 5K start

Race morning dawned and it was C-O-L-D and the forecast was S-N-O-W.  The problem when you travel several hundred miles for a race is that there really is no backing out.  The race is what we'd come for.  Will was really nervous before the start, and I was reminded of being so nervous four years ago.  I knew that he wanted to run his own race, but hoped that he'd jog a few steps with me at the beginning.  However, at the sound of the gun he was off...I didn't see him AT ALL until the finish line.  The blinding snow started at about mile two. I kept scanning the crowd ahead of me during the race, but couldn't find him.  He finished in 54 minutes, was the youngest runner to run,  and so of course won his age group.  Blue Ribbon for him and all!!  He was pretty happy.

The 5K runners in the family had a different kind of race.  After waiting under the heaters for the race start, the rain/snow mix began for them 2 minutes into the race.  Caroline apparently cried....the entire race!  Matt carried her on his shoulders almost the whole three miles.  What a man!  Josh and Emma ran walked together and talked and laughed through the snow.

This may be her last 5K?

The finish line was blustery, frigid, and intolerable for all of us. The hot chocolate helped, but only while we still had some to sip, We had to wait around for Will to get his medal, then wait for the shuttles to take us back to the start.  We were all so miserably wet and cold...so much for running a race in Southern Utah for the weather!  As we waited in the long shuttle line Matt and I were reminded of the pioneers that crossed the plains in similar conditions, only they didn't have a warm shower waiting for them back at the hotel.  I don't know how many survived!

Hot chocolate makes all runners happy!

Will-First place in his age group!

We spent the rest of the day dining out, and driving and hiking around Zions Park.  The following morning we left Springdale before sunrise to take Matt to the St. George airport to catch a flight to Orlando.  As we drove through the dark Matt reminded the sleepy kids in the backseat that he kept his promise.  Even though we had to make some compromises we were able to make the race, and still hope to be able to make it a tradition.  We'll hope for better weather in year's to come!

Roomie Reunion

Debi, Karen, Me, and Kim
The Babes of Branbury Park Apartment 7-313.
I love these girls!

When I was a freshman in college I made a life changing decision.  It was the end of freshman year in the dorms and everyone  was making plans where to live off campus sophomore year.  I had a few different options and really struggled on whom I should choose to room with. Originally I chose to live with my freshman roommate Diana and another girl that lived down the hall.  However, right before the year came to a close Debi, Kim and Karen (who lived next door to me in the dorms), asked me to be their fourth roomie at Branbury Park.  Even though I had already signed a contract at another apartment to live with Diana, I just knew that living with other girls was the right choice.

Twenty five years later I am still so grateful for that decision.  We shared an apartment for two years...until Kim and Karen got married.  We had some great times together.  They are some amazing women!!  Even though our paths have seldom crossed these past 25 years, I still count them as some great friends, and am fortunate to have known them and to have had their examples in my life.

Fast Forward 25 years, to a Apartment 7-313 reunion.  I picked Karen up at the San Diego airport (she currently lives in Arkansas), and met Debi and Kim at the San Diego temple.  It may have been the wrong place for an initial reunion because we were the noisiest people in the chapel trying to catch up after years of seeing each other.  After the temple we headed to dinner to chat more.  It was the oddest feeling because it was seriously like no time had passed between us, yet we each had "history" that the others knew about.

We spent a long weekend together at the Hotel Del Coronado.  We literally talked almost the entire weekend.  A few walks on the beach, long lunches and dinners,  and chats poolside. It was a fun weekend of "remember when".  We all didn't have the same specific memories and it was nice to be reminded of some fun things we did together.

It was a lovely weekend.  An added bonus is that during one of our beach walks I ran into another dear friend of mine from college, Alice, who just happened to be in town from Arizona!  (Small, small world!!)  I only wish I had more time to spend with her as well!   I had a great time getting reacquainted with these three women.  Have I mentioned how amazing each one of them is??  Everyone needs to know someone like them!  I will be forever grateful for that decision made so many years ago.  I'm already looking forward to a 30 year reunion!

Karen, Me and Kim
Foggy day beach self portrait.

Hotel Del--seriously like something out of a romance novel!

Karen and I walked on the beach each morning.  Why don't I live closer to the ocean?

Debi and Karen-downtown S.D.

Kim and Karen dining on "Extraordinary Desserts".  Karen had the nerve to suggest to get one for all of us to share!    She was always the smart one in college...instead we EACH got one and shared.  We were a bit sick afterwards...but it was all quite delish!