Christmas Eve, 2008 December 25, 2008

Well, this Christmas Eve just may go down in my memory as the most – I don’t know – none fun?  No, it was fun.  Not so festive?  Maybe.  Just plain weird?  OK.  That’s probably it.

The difficulty started a week ago when I had arthroscopic surgery on my left knee.  I’ve been hobbling around for quite some time and finally decided it was time to take care of the problem.  So I decided that I would prefer to spend my two weeks vacation from school recuperating from surgery, instead of taking 2 weeks off in January because it seemed overwhelming to get a substitute, do all the prep work, and then let someone else get paid for showing up.  I still think I did the right thing.

Anyway.  Last Sunday, while I was still taking vast amounts of Lortab, our family discussed what we would do on Christmas Eve and Christmas.  Should we stick with tradition and everyone but me do the cooking?  Or should we take the easy way out and do something simple as far as meals go?  We decided to stick with tradition and made these assignments:  Piano Man – prime rib, gravy, au jus, sauteed asparagus, and mash the potatoes; Jazz – help with cheeseball and grapefruit slush; Fuffy – come straight from work (to be here so we could eat at 7:30) and set the table; Teeny – peel and cut the potatoes, make Chex Mix for Christmas Day, help set the table; Mom – make the peanut clusters and the salads, both of which I could do sitting down.  Oh, and rolls by Rhodes.  I know…but at least I realized making the rolls would be impossible this year.   The plan all  seemed simple enough…

Going back to my surgery for a moment…the surgery was on Thursday and my first physical therapy session was on Saturday.  That hurt like heck, but by the end of the day sunday, I could get around using a walker instead of crutches for a few minutes at a time, so it seemed like progress.  After therapy Monday I felt really good and started using the walker only, with the occasional attempt at one or two steps unaided.  Still good.  I only took two pain pills Monday night and Tuesday morning I felt great, and also bored.  I had Piano Man and Jazz bring my sewing stuff upstairs so I could work on a little project because I couldn’t stand to just sit around anymore.  Well, it turned out to be a little more than I bargained for because I didn’t bother to keep my foot elevated or keep ice on my knee because , well, it was too tricky and uncomfortable and I was sewing after all!  The project took longer than I anticipated and by the time I went to bed I had a terrible night, even with large amounts of Lortab and Ibuprofin.

By the time Wednesday came around I didn’t want to go to therapy, but it ended up helping a lot and once I got home I felt good again.  I know.  You would think that I might have learned a lesson.  Oh well.  I did, but not until much later in the day.  I ended up making the salt crust for the prime rib, which was no big deal.  I helped Jazz make the cheeseball, also no big deal.  I made the salads, which were incredible, by the way, but I decided it was easier to cut everything standing up instead of sitting at the table.  Mistake.  So, to get off my feet, I went to my bedroom and wrapped gifts.  Without elevating my foot and without icing my knee.  Oops again.  By the time 7:00 came I felt awful and was, frankly, a tad bit cranky.  Piano Man and the kids had everything under control in the kitchen, so I finally thought to put my knee up and ice it.  I also, happily, thought to take some pills.  Fuffy didn’t come and didn’t come and didn’t come and called to say he was trying to get away from work and would be here any minute.  He finally got here around 8:00, but he was hungry, tired, cranky, and not feeling so well.  So, we ate with not much conversation and when I asked anyone what memories they have of past Christmas Eve’s they all grunted at me.  And, besides that, we had so much food that NO ONE EVEN TOUCHED THEIR SALAD!    At  9:00 we all took a nap and got up 30 minutes later to open Christmas Eve presents and try to be nicer to each other.  We sent Jazz to bed at 10:00 and he fell asleep right away, so we made Fuffy and Teeny help put the presents under the tree.  We all went to bed eventually and slept peacefully until Jazz woke up at 7:30.  All’s well that ends well.

Here’s the happy news:  The prime rib was amazing!  Yum, yum, yum.  And I took a picture of the salad so I can remember it and make it again when I feel not quite so crappy.  If I can get someone to help me, the picture will show up below.  If not, oh well!

Merry Christmas!

A fun meme July 12, 2008

I copied this from HSF’s blog because I thought it was so fun.

A- Attached or single:Truly, madly, deeply attached for almost 30 years!  WooHoo!
B- Best Friend: Piano Man, Hairyshoefairy, Teeny, PuzzledLori, Jo Who’s Insane, NurseEK, my mom (even though she died 19 years ago, I still have a lot of times when I think, “I should call my mom.  She would love to hear this!” )
C- Cake or Pie: Both!  Chocolate Rum Cake from Glaus Pastries in SLC and my homemade strawberry/banana cream pie
D- Day: Friday during the school year, Sunday always
E- Essential Item: Lotion from Bath & Body
F- Favorite Color: Anything darkish – red, forest green, dark blue
G- Gummy Bears or Worms: Bears – they make great counters for teaching addition and subtraction
H- Hometown: Salt Lake City until I was 32, now Tiny Town, Utah
I- Indulgences: Weekly date night, yearly anniversary trip
J- January or July: July – it’s way too hot, but I love driving around town with the air conditioning on, while  Josh Groban sings to me via my MP3 player
K- Kids: 4 – Jazz who is 28, HSF who is 26 and is married to NYDD and who has my sweet and darling grandgirl Peanut, Fuffy who is 22, and Teeny who is 16
L- Life is incomplete without:  Piano Man, the rest of my family, my friends, and great music
M- Marriage Date: September 8, 1978
N- Number of Siblings: 1 brother and 1 half-brother
O- Oranges or Apples: Both again!
P- Phobias or Fears: SNAKES!!!   EEK!!!
Q- Quote: “Bless this house with love and laughter.  Make us happy ever after.”
R- Reason To Smile: Hanging out with my grandgirl, my family, and my friends, and having students who tell me they love me
S- Season: Autumn – always has been, always will be
T- Tag Three: I don’t know many bloggers, but how about Loralee, Aliese, and Dominoe
U- Unknown fact about me: I was born in November and I have a beautiful topaz ring which I keep in the cool art deco box it came in.  My dad was 50 when i was born, and he was so happy to have a daughter at that late age that he went right out and bought me that ring and gave it to me on my 16th birthday.
V- Vegetarian or Not: Not!  Yikes!
W- Worst habit: Wow!  Too many to name.  One would be taking a nap every afternoon after school and not getting other stuff done.
X- X-rays or Ultrasounds: I don’t love either experience, but I’ve had many x-rays, as I have always had very breakable bones
Y- Your favorite food: Again, too many to name!  I am a foodie!  And it shows, darn it!    My very most favorites are potato spring rolls from Hamilton’s, Sour Cream Rolls, really good steak, and strawberry freezer jam.
Z- Zodiac sign: Scorpio

A great way to wake up June 22, 2008

I stayed up late last night because I could.  I was looking forward to a little sleep-in time because today is Stake Conference and it doesn’t start until 10:00.  So why not hang out at Macey’s a little longer on Saturday night, read a bit of a magazine, etc?  No 7:00 A.M. leadership meetings, no sacrament meeting at 9:00 A.M.  Just have a luxuriously late morning.  Whatever.

These are the five words that roused me out of a deep sleep:  Mom, the toilet’s running over!

Now, one hour later, there is a load of towels in the washing machine  (soaking in Clorox), the handy-dandy carpet cleaning vacuum thingy is rinsed, drained, and put safely away, and the suitcases that got wet because they were in the storage room that the water dripped into are drying nicely on the front sidewalk.  But!  We have a sparkling clean bathroom floor!  Nice…

Happy Sunday!

I am having NONE FUN! April 2, 2008

It’s 6:00 AM and I’m awake, but I don’t want to be.  On a normal day I would be up and around and getting ready for my day, but not today.  I’m up because I couldn’t stand to lay down on my battered old body one more minute.

Two days ago I fell off a chair at work.  OK, that sounds pretty stupid, I know, and in fact it was.  I stood on a little, kid-size chair to put some artwork on the wall.  When I went to step off, the chair tipped and I crashed off.  At first I thought my little class might be traumatized, but they asked me if I was ok and if they should go get another teacher, and then they went right back to playing.  I guess seeing your teacher laying in a heap on the ground is no big deal.  One little girl was quite concerned about the blood on my thumb and elbow and brought me a wet paper towel, but that was about it.

I could tell that I had a problem with my left leg and left hip.  After a few minutes I pushed myself up, only to discover that I couldn’t put any weight on that leg, so I dropped onto my chair, which was also painful.  So I got one of the kids to move a small chair over so I could elevate my foot, but that didn’t really help either.  I thought that maybe if I could get some crutches I could at least get up and move around, so I had my friend, L, borrow crutches from a neighbor and bring them to me.  L had a good laugh at my difficulties, especially after my class told her how I stood on the chair, which is against the rules, and how I made a loud thump and a big mess.  (I knocked a couple of piles of stuff on the floor on my way down).  It only took a minute to realize that the crutches didn’t help, so I finally called my boss to come in and sub for me and I called Piano Man to take me to the emergency room.

While I was waiting for them to come, I looked at my leg and realized that the left leg of my pants was stretched about as far as it could go because my leg had swollen so much.  Oh dear, I thought, that can’t be good.  Somehow, Piano Man and my boss got me out to the car and on to the hospital.  PAINFUL!

As soon as the nurse got my pants off and saw my leg she said, “Oh, dear!”  A student came in a said, “Ew”.  I looked down and there was a lump the size of a grapefruit sticking out of my leg and a bruise was developing on it.  The doctor had them start an IV in case I needed surgery, and to get some pain meds into my system fast.  Hooray for pain meds!  I was sure either my hip or my leg was broken, but after an hour of x-rays they said I just had a big, deep contusion.  They sent me home with ice packs and percocet and told me to keep my leg iced and elevated for a few days.

I have quite the bruise.  HSF’s blog has a picture of it.  Yuck.  My leg is starting to not hurt so much, but now the rest of my body feels like it’s been hit by a truck.  I discovered when I was awake at 1:00 this morning that I can put enough weight on that foot to get around a little bit easier, so hooray for that.

Enough of my whining.  I’m sure I’ll feel better if I can just get a few hours of uninterrupted, unpainful sleep, so I’m going back to bed now.

Prom memories, #2 February 26, 2008

My son, Jazz, is mentally handicapped. Always has been, always will be. (Well, almost always has been, but that’s another story for another day). Anyway, when we moved to our current home, Jazz was blessed to find a wonderful friend right off the bat. He was 10 years old, and this friend, Kenny, became Jazz’s instant pal. (I can’t refer to him by a fake name, because he’s just Kenny). They would play basketball in the driveway and walk to the local pop machine and talk on the phone and do other normal “friend” stuff.

The year Jazz and Kenny were both 16, Kenny decided they both needed to go to Junior Prom. Jazz was very excited, and we talked to him about having a date and minding his manners, etc. Well, we finally realized he thought Kenny was the date! We worked hard to convince him that he had to ask a girl (of all things!) but he finally believed us. So Jazz picked a girl in his special-needs class, a sweet young lady with Down Syndrome, and Kenny asked another special-needs girl.

Jazz and Kenny rented tuxedos and bought corsages and went together to pick the girls up. Then they all went back to Kenny’s house where they had dinner, then they went to the dance. We live in a small community, and one of the fun events of the year is Junior Prom. They have a “promenade”, where each couple walks across a stage as their names are announced. All the parents go and everyone claps and cheers and it’s really fun. We went to the dance to see the promenade that night, and it was so cool. I had known for a long time how wonderful and patient Kenny was, but this was the first time I really understood what a remarkable person he is. The announcer said Jazz and his date’s names, then Kenny and his date’s names, but they came out together. Kenny had his date on one arm, and was using his other arm to guide and shepherd Jazz and his date across the stage. He smiled and behaved as if he was with the coolest kids in the school. And you know what? Because he treated Jazz and those girls that way, most of the other students did too. It was a night this old, tender-hearted mother will always remember.

Prom memories February 26, 2008

My friend, Loralee (Loralee’s Looney Tunes) wrote a post asking about proms, so I decided to write about a couple of them.

I remember this experience very clearly, but I’m not sure exactly which high school dance involved this incident.  I think it was senior prom of my senior year.  This would have been 1975.  I went to a very large high school in Salt Lake and most of our dances were held in the school gymnasium.  However, every now and then we had them at the rotunda of the state capital building or at Hotel Utah, which was downtown, or other places around the valley.  This particular dance was held at Fashion Place Mall.

First you have to picture the placement of garbage cans in a mall.  These were placed every so often down the center corridor of the mall.  It seems like there were some planters and some benches, etc. and the dancing was going on around and between all these things.  The point is:  the garbage cans were NOT placed against a wall.  This is important to remember.

I went to the dance with my boyfriend, who I will refer to as FirstBoyfriend, who was a fun, talented, sweet, really good person.  We had been dating for a couple of years and had gone to many dances and we enjoyed doing “ballroom” dances together – swing, chacha, polka, waltz, foxtrot, etc.  I was excited about the dance, and I had a new dress and new earrings and new shoes.  I don’t think it ever occurred to us to get our hair “done” for a dance.  We just wore it like we always did.  Same with our makeup.   I do remember that FirstBoyfriend brought me a beautiful corsage and I gave him a boutineer.  (How do you spell that?)  We went out to dinner before the dance, and for the first hour or so we had a great time.  Then the band started to play “Roll Out the Barrel” so we did the polka.  We were laughing and spinning and having so much fun, when suddenly I found myself dancing alone!  I stopped, caught my balance, and looked around in time to see FirstBoyfriend running for one of the garbage cans.  I also saw a couple dancing directly into FirstBoyfriend’s path.  There was no collision, as the dancing couple was on the opposite side of the garbage can.  Just as they danced by, FirstBoyfriend barfed.  Poor guy.   He was being so careful to aim for the garbage can, but he hit the girl as she danced past!  Holy Cow!  The horrified girl hustled herself into the restroom, and as soon as FirstBoyfriend could manage it, he got himself into a restroom.  It turned out that he was really sick, and he felt too awful to drive us home, so I had to drive while he laid in the back seat.  Unfortunately, I already had terrible eyesight at that young age, and I was so vain that I hadn’t worn my glasses that night.  So we went home with him moaning in pain and me squinting and hoping not to hit anything.  Now that was a good time! 

Hands February 16, 2008

A few weeks ago, HSF wrote a post (is that what it’s called?) about her hands, and it got me thinking about my own hands, other people’s hands, and also hands in general.

HSF asked the question:  What do my hands say about me?  Hmmm.   That’s an interesting thing to think about.  Probably my hands say that I’m middle-aged, I weigh too much, and I do some odd and interesting things.  Here’s the description:  My skin has recently become older-looking and feeling.  I’ve been a grandma for about 19 months, and I’m beginning to get grandma hands.  There are some brown spots and some saggy, wrinkly parts on the backs of my hands.  I’ve had arthritis for about 25 years, and my knuckles are big.  I have hangnails and deep, slit-like things because I tear thread with my fingers instead of cutting it.  These little crevices change colors periodically, because most of the tools of my trade involve some amount of food coloring or paint – playdough, watercolors, fingerpaints, etc.  My hands hold many memories for me – there’s a scar on my right middle finger that I got when I was about 5 and I jammed my finger between my bike tire and the fender of the bike (think old-fashioned Schwinn, but at the time it wasn’t old-fashioned – it was new!).  The nail grows funny on my right index finger because  few years ago I knicked it in the band saw.  There’s a little patch on the tip of my right middle finger where I ran it up against a running bench-grinder.  There’s a scar on the left middle finger where it got caught while I was pounding together metal shelves for basement storage.  I have scars on the lower inside of both palms from having carpal tunnel surgery.  So there’s my litany of injuries…

I wear two rings, one on each hand.  On my left hand I wear my wedding ring, of course.  I love this ring, and I have from the moment I saw it in the jewelry store at Trolley Square.  If you look at it from the right angle it looks like a bow.  When Piano Man and I were talking about marriage, my friend Joytoholdher and I went ring shopping together at Trolley Square.  I found this ring, fell in love with it, and went home.  Joytoholdher went back to campus (U of U), found Piano Man, and made him go to Trolley Square with her to see the ring of my dreams.  Neither of them ever said anything to me about it, of course, until later.  Well, I told Piano Man that I had found the perfect ring, but somehow we never made it to the store to look.  A couple of weeks later, Piano Man and I were going to a dance at Hotel Utah and I needed new earrings to match the dress I was planning to wear, so my mom and I went to Trolley Square to look for the earrings.  I took her to the jewelry store to show her “my” ring, AND. IT. WAS. GONE!!!  I couldn’t believe my eyes!  It was a sad and tragic moment, to say the least.  Well, eventually I found new earrings and went home and got ready for the dance.   Piano Man picked me up and we went to dinner at The Heather, then went downtown to Hotel Utah.  In the parking lot, before we went into the building, Piano Man got all nervous and pulled something out of his pocket.  IT WAS MY RING!!!  HOORAY!!!  So we went to the dance that night as a newly-engaged couple and we lived happily ever after! 

OK, that was a long story that was NOT about my hands, but whatever.  Moving on.  On my right hand I wear my mom’s wedding ring.  It’s not flashy and it’s not expensive, but it was hers and I love it.  I plan to be buried with it on so that if she wants to wear it for eternity, I can give it to her.  Hope that all works out…

Now about hands…I think hands are the most amazing tools in the world!  Think about it – your hands can do almost anything!  My own hands have sewn baby quilts, and prom dresses and everything in between.  They have knitted sweaters and crocheted (not very successfully) slippers.  They have painted “crafty” things and have stitched amazing hardanger designs.  They have baked dozens of rolls, cooked thousands of meals, and baked who-knows-how-many cookies, cakes, pies, etc.  They have cut and sanded wood, built knickknacks, pounded nails,  shingled a roof,  and painted walls a myriad of colors.

My hands have cuddled baby faces, wiped baby tears, changed baby and big-people diapers, soothed fevered brows, traced scars on a little chest, and changed icky surgical dressings.

My hands have turned the pages of many books and played the piano and the organ and have led singing.  They have held many tiny hands as they learned to write and to read.

My hands have lifted many forks, but not many hand-weights.  They have created many messes, but cleaned up not-so-many.  They are not very good at changing a tire or doing other car work, using a computer, or doing anything especially scientific.

My hands have held other hands, big and small, for multiple reasons over many seasons.  My favorite hands to hold are attached to Piano Man.  After almost 30 years of marriage, I still get a tingle when he takes my hand.

My hands have three times touched the face and hands of a beloved parent for the last time.

So  many things hands can do.  Think of the blessings of hands.

SNOW!!! January 6, 2008

It’s Sunday night and Piano Man and I just finished shoveling about 10 inches of fresh snow off the driveway.  Luckily we bought a little snowplow during the summer, so that made the job go much quicker and it was amazingly easy.  Piano Man did the whole driveway and all I had to do was shovel the front walkways.  It still wore me out, but not like shoveling the whole driveway does!

I love how the snow looks when it’s falling, but I don’t love driving in it and I don’t love the freezing cold temperatures once the clouds pass.  And in our little corner of the world, it probably won’t get warm enough to melt this snow until March and by then it will be grey and dirty.  Oh well.  This kind of weather makes me especially thankful for flannel sheets, a soft & cozy bed, and hot chocolate.  Hooray!

Crazy 8’s Meme January 6, 2008

HSF had this on her blog and I thought I’d do it.  Here goes:

8 THINGS I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT

1.  My husband, 2 daughters, 2 sons, 1 in-law son, and 1 grandgirl

2.  My extended family

3.  My faith/beliefs

4.  Teaching

5.  Hot chocolate

6.  Crafting – quilting, sewing, painting, etc.

7.  Cooking – trying new recipes, pretending to be a chef

8.  My friends

8 THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE

1.  Go on a mission with Piano Man.  Jazz will probably come too.

2.  Go on as many cruises as we can.

3.  Go to some kind of cooking school – maybe pastry chef classes or something like that

4.  Spend lots and lots of time with my grandbabies.  I want to become the kind of grandmother that Marjorie Hinckley was.

5.  Read all the great books everyone tells me about.

6.  Create some amazing quilts.

7.  Be a better person.

8.  Have a bigger kitchen.

8 THINGS I OFTEN SAY

1.  I love you.

2.  Be good.

3.  Oh well.

4.  Sh*#!!!  Sadly, it was HSF’s first word.

5.  Friends, it’s time to turn on your listening ears.

6.  I think I’ll take a nap now.

7.   Friends, remember to use your inside voices.

8.  Ow.  (It’s a common word in  middle age, as in “ow” every time my left knee bends wrong, “ow” every time I stand up after I’ve been sitting for more than 10 minutes, etc.  One of my kindergarten friends said to me, “Teacher, why do you always say ow?”)

8 BOOKS I’VE READ RECENTLY

1.  “These is My Words” by Nancy Turner

2.  “The Book of Mormon” – again.

3.  “The Robe” by Lloyd C. Douglas

4.  “Fancy Nancy” by I can’t remember who

5.  The autobiography of Corrie Ten Boom, but I can’t remember the title

6.  “The Christmas Tapestry” by Patricia Palacco

7.  “The Christmas Box Miracle” by Richard Paul Evans

8.  “The Quiet Heart” by Patricia Holland

8 SONGS I COULD LISTEN TO OVER AND OVER AGAIN

1.  The whole “Somewhere in Time” soundtrack

2.  Almost anything by Josh Groban, but especially the song from “Awake” with the really gorgeous cello/violin/instrumental interlude – love it!

3.  “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” – recorded by Mormon Youth Symphony and Chorus

4.  “Walkin’ in New York” by Manhattan Transfer

5.  “Berkley Square” by Manhattan Transfer

6.  Any song recorded by hairyshoefairy, but especially “Home” from The Wiz and “Home” from Beauty and the Beast and Eva Cassidy’s version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

7.  “Baby, What You Goin’ to Be?” as recorded by Donny Osmond

8.  Anything Piano Man sings and plays

8 THINGS THAT ATTRACT ME TO MY FRIENDS

1.  They make me laugh.

2.  They make me want to be a better person.

3.  I feel completely comfortable with them.

4.  We can spend time together just hanging out, not having to do anything

5.  They like me back, even if I’m weird or goofy.

6.  They can help me remember who I am and the things that are important to me.  One of my favorite quotes says,  “A friend is someone who knows your song and can sing it to you when you can’t remember how it goes.”  That’s what I’m talking about.

7.  We have a shared history.

8.  They know me and they like me anyway.

Tagged by HSF October 28, 2007

I was tagged a few days ago by HSF to write 7 things about myself you may not know.  Assuming anyone besides my own children read this, here I go:

1.  I love Christmas music.  Not just during December, or even November and December, but all year long.  By the time January rolls around I’m getting tired of it, so I don’t listen to any until we get a cold, wet day in April or June or whenever, then i pull it out.  I get back into serious listening with the first really cold weather after Labor Day.  When I have to clean the kitchen or do dishes or whatever, it all goes by better if I’m listening to Christmas music.

2.  I love to sing, but I’m not very good at it.  When Piano Man and I were first married, he wanted to be in the ward choir so I went along.  I couldn’t sing high enough to be a soprano, but I didn’t know how to go about singing alto.  The very first practice was terrible for me, so afterwards we brought the music home to work on it.  I played the alto line and Piano Man sat with me until my voice could find the correct notes at the correct time.  After all these years I now know how to pick up the alto line by myself, but it takes some effort most of the time.  Piano Man is the ward choir director and my good friend and I are in the ward choir.  We are both alto’s and we always bring the music home and work on it together until we both know how we are supposed to sound.

3.  I want to be a chef when I grow up.  I love cooking and trying out new recipes, but I’m not very good at coming up with new ideas on my own.  But if I eat something at a restaurant, I can usually figure out how to make it at home.  I’m a Food Network junkie and love to try out those recipes.  I recently watched the “chefography” about Giada de Laurentis and she started out as a personal chef for a family.  I told Piano Man that I want to be a personal chef, and he pointed out that, oh yes, I already am…I forgot.  Problem is, NOBODY PAYS ME FOR IT!!!

4.  I wish I could design clothing.  I love sewing and choosing fabrics and patterns and threads and embellishments, but I would love to be able to create my own patterns.

5.  I have been blessed to have a best girl friend through all the phases of my life.  I met my first best friend, C, when I was 4 years old, and we are still friends and when we talk to each other a couple of times a year, it seems like no time has passed at all.  J came along when we were both in 7th grade, those hated junior high school years.  At our school they had a dance 3 times a year, during the last hour of the day.  Since it was still during school hours, we weren’t allowed to just go home.  So J and I would go into the bathroom, polish our glasses, shine up our braces, adjust our dresses (pants weren’t allowed in school in those days!), and go to the stinky gym, where we would stand against the wall for an hour, wondering why nobody was asking us to dance.  Hmmmm… Let’s see.  CL came along in high school and was amazingly talented in every way.  She eventually lined me up with Piano Man after I suffered a broken heart.  I’m thankful every day that she thought of lining me up with Piano Man.  When we moved to our first house in West Valley City, I met P.  Our boys were the same age, and we ended up having our oldest girls within 6 weeks of each other.  When we moved to our current home 18 years ago I met L and we have been laughing friends ever since.  I still stay in touch with all of these women after all these years and I can’t imagine my life without each one.

6.  I’m one of those girls who is married to her best friend.  I think a big reason we have a happy marriage after almost 30 years is that we honestly, truly like each other.  We enjoy spending time together and he makes me laugh every single day.  It’s great to married to someone you can be goofy with.

7.  HSF said that she loves the smell of Tide, and a comment from Loralee said that she likes smells, too.  Well, I’m with those girls.  I am a big-time sniffer, but not for getting high, I promise!  I just love to smell things, mostly chemicals!  Weird, I know.  I actually keep a can of pine sawdust in my pantry so I can sniff it when I miss my daddy.  I can’t walk past the shoe aisle at Walmart without stopping to sniff the shoe polish.  If I’m driving, I try to get behind diesel trucks and tar trucks.  And I took up decorative painting because I get to use varnish.  It’s hard for me to believe someone thought it was a good idea to invent odorless paint!  However, there are some smells I don’t like.  Living out in the country we experience many smells that I consider cucka.  Like when the manure truck drips all over the road…ick!  And when the breeze blows in from the blood pools at the local meat processing plant.  Ick again.  Apparently natural smells are not my favorites.  Give me some good chemicals any day!

I am tagging Fuffy.