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.