Christina the Astonishing

Meet Jaffy!

2011-12-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

In my last post I listed that I have 3 loyal companions, that's right, I am two cats over the sane cat owner limit and have just crossed over to the crazy cat lady. It was never my intention to have more than one cat....in fact I wanted a dog...but my studio apartment would never have been big enough for the Irish Wolfhound I still am planning on getting sometime in my future, and my fish were seriously not that fun! So the next best thing was a cat! I originally brought my dear sweet kitten Ramses with me from home but he was diagnosed with liver failure a few weeks later and had to be put down which broke my heart! I was so devastated that I went right out and got another cat to replace him....well, two cats, from the pound that were brother and sister. With the help of my friend Clayton, we got them home and safe....for a day. Remember those Siamese cats from Lady and the Tramp...yeah, they unfortunately had the worse temperaments, but that was never mentioned to me before hand and after ripping up everything in the house and breaking everything worth value and biting everyone in sigh within a 24 hour period, Clayton and I took them right back. I found Shanty at Peaches. Someone had brought in the whole litter. The owner told me that the mother had been killed and they had been bottle feeding him. He was the spunkiest little kitten ever! He was just adorable, and still is! Athens was a gift to me 10 years ago from my boss's father. She was such a tiny kitten, I really didn't know what to do with her. She is such a good mouser though and even though it took around 2 months, her and Shanty learned to get along and they are still inseparable. Now Jaffy. A few months ago I was getting into my car for lunch and I heard a very loud meow. I followed it over to one of the greenhouses that had a sheet of snow that had slipped off of it and in between the snow and the greenhouse was a little scared, bright eyed orange kitten...orange is my favorite. I tried and tried to catch it but it was impossible so I picked up a taco for it at lunch and left it and just observed during the day what he was up to. I secretly was hoping that he would run and find a home because I hate to see animals without homes but I knew full well that it would probably find the cat house that we have in one of the greenhouses. To make a long story short, several days and several burritos later, we became friends. He had a bad leg and eye problems and was in a bad way but I decided to take him in anyways. The other two cats still hate me for doing it though but I keep thinking that one day they will thank me. I know Jaffy appreciated it! He is so super cuddly and purrs on demand. I am happy to say that he has made a full recovery and now has 4 working legs and dilating eyes and he is worm free...I know this first hand...don't ask me how :( I am happy to have him and his spunkiness makes me laugh! I am not sure we will make it all the way to Christmas with our tree standing or with ornaments on it because he is a climber but we shall see.

This was my Jaffy before bringing him home

This is my Jaffy now

What 10 Things I Am Thankful For

2011-11-24T16:06:00.000-08:00

Family

My Savior

Loyal Companions

A Job

Shelter

A Car

Books and Knowledge

Friends

A Beautiful World

Laughter

This is a very short list of things that I am thankful for but I haven't forgotten other things that I thank my Heavenly Father for every day. May we all remember to live in thanksgiving daily.

The House

2011-05-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

Well, after 30 days of the most frustrating, hair pulling, teeth grinding, exhausting, life changing decisions, I finally grew up and bought a house. Now this decision was not an easy or relaxing decision. It required constant vigilance on MLS, visiting gross run down houses, being disappointed, etc. But I am glad to say that I have chosen the house that suits my feel! The house has 3 bedrooms a basement, cold storage, and food storage, along with a cute kitchen and bathroom with additional shower, separate from the bathroom. Only yesterday did I get to walk around it and really spend time looking at it and getting a feel for it. It was built in 1936 and has been in the same family until now. I have yet to select a name for it (why are British the only ones that give their houses names??) but I will be coming up with one soon. It has a huge wonderful backyard that doesn't have anything started in it but a clothes line so my imagination is getting pretty darn excited! I am sooooo looking forward to having everything painted, papered, and floored to my liking (I am not a sea foam green type of person) and I am sure there will be many picture updates as I do a little transforming. I am super excited! The main things that I am looking forward to are: not having a community washer and dryer and having to pull some strangers lint out of the trap :( gross!, having to hesitate before belting out Whitney Houston while soaking in the tub, having to close my blinds whenever a stray car pulls into the pit of fornication, having the grand inquisitor question my every move, not being able to vacuum after 9, not being able to do jumping jacks....in case I ever wanted too, having to sneak my 2 cats in and out, having to wait at my front door while the couple leaning next to my car says there extra loooooong goodbye before leaving, having my mail far from me and having to use a key to get to it, knowing exactly what the neighbor downstairs had for the dinner the night before because it has become embedded on my towels, not having enough room EVER for all my plants, beige everything, not having room for a bbq, and not having room for a hammock! I know, I know, that all sounds pretty negative, but I WILL miss the pool! 11 of some of my best years have been spent cooped up in my little apartment and I have been able to make the best of it but now on to BIGGER and BETTER!! Did I mention I am excited?!!? Now for some pictures:

Tulips alredy!!

The kitchen (sorry it's a horrible shot)

The view of the backyard (filled with weeds I know!) from the kitchen.

Little Johnny Jump-up's growning in the sidewalk cracks :D

The living room before

Pulling up the carpet in the living room.....

.....and the bedroom.

Cousin Carol came over to help me sand!

After.

I haven't been able to sell many people on the green wall color in the bedroom but it isn't finished yet! More remodels pictures to come.....if I last that long!

Shanty's 10!

2011-02-06T10:04:00.000-08:00

Shanty has reached the ripe old age of 10! In cat years, he has overtaken me so he has become the eldest in the apartment. What he does, goes! He now controls when he sleeps, when I sleep, when he eats, and when he goes outside.....well, much like he did even as a kitten. We have become the best of friends in our last 10 years together and here are the 10 things I love about him:

#1- He isn't afraid to sleep all day
#2- He still runs like a kitten when he gets scared of plastic bags
#3- He ALWAYS has to be on the counter in the bathroom every morning watching me get ready
#4- He is sooooo soft
#5- He gets along with everyone! Children, adults, other cats, and even dogs
#6- He always finds the most cleverest places to hide
#7- He has excelled in the English language and understands fully the words: dinner, cat treats, and outside
#8- He's a great lap cat
#9- He smiles if you rub his chin
and #10- He has been with me through thick and thin and is patient with me when I am away of out of the country and still accepts me when I come back which to me is a sign of true friendship!
Happy Birthday Shanty!

When the Weather Outside is Frightful

2010-11-27T17:04:00.000-08:00

....Shanty, Athens, and I open the windows and let the snowflakes blow in and hit us while enjoying the warmth of the heater and a nice cozy blanket! It was the perfect day for a blizzard!

The Horse

2010-11-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

Abby snapped this picture while I wasn't looking....it is her favorite stuffed animal. She just loves stuffed horses. I couldn't be more thrilled that she is turning out to be like me! Good thing she has my middle name!

Abby the Snaggletooth

2010-11-27T16:54:00.000-08:00

This was supposed to be the before picture of the before and after group. Thanksgiving Day I found out that Abby was sporting two loose front teeth, one way more wiggly than the other...yes, the one in the picture that has a bit of a snaggle to it...anyways, hoping to be thankful for children who still let me pull their teeth, I tried all day to convince Abby that I was just the aunt for the job. Needless to say...there is no after picture and she left Thanksgiving night not anticipating her two front teeth for Christmas....yet!

A Mice and Men Day

2010-11-24T08:52:00.000-08:00

I should have known last Monday that the day was going to turn out to be a horrible one, despite the fact that I was taking on the challenge that I had given to my Laurels to try and find optimism throughout the week. It always seems like things turn out worse when you take on a challenge! Anyways, like I was saying, I should have known the day would be bad when I woke up late for work and in my sleepiness, as I was locking the front door, I realized I was standing on a bloody mouse head! Gross! Thanks for reminding me about the circle of life, Athens! Needless to say, it got rolled off the balcony and into the bushes. The morning started off okay and things were off and running up until after lunch. I came back to work and was getting ready to get back in the groove of things after a visit to the loo. I slammed the door...as usual, but it wouldn't slam. I pushed on it a second time....still wouldn't quiet shut. I put all of my weight into it and finally got it closed. As I flipped on the light, I noticed the thing that was obstructing the door. The head of a mouse. Poor guy was trying to get out when I was coming in. I have always said that I am cursed with the worse timing in the world, finally someone...or something (the mouse) probably agreed with me! I called my boss to come and get his flat, cartoon like head out of the crack of the door jam. I felt just awful! I left work still feeling awful, which must have set off the sensor in some policeman's head because they never pull you over when you are having a good day! My plates were expired. What else is new. It wouldn't have been such a big deal if I wouldn't have gotten the meanest most stubborn policeman in town...sheesh! I actually drove recklessly home the rest of the way just to see if I could get pulled over on the last stretch home. After a crappy mouse killing law breaking day I was just excited to be home and done with it. As I turned the key in the lock and opened the door, my excitement was shattered by a clump of nastiness spewed up on the carpet....the warm, regurgitated body of the mouse head I had met earlier that day was waiting to greet me on my newly shampooed carpets. I'm going to try optimism another week.

Darn You Stretchy Pants!

2010-09-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

Working in a greenhouse all summer is hard and HOT work. This year rather than subjecting the customers to two of the whitest stems they've ever seen by wearing shorts, I decided on black capri length stretchy pants and a selection of cut off black sweats....styling I know! Now that summer is over and the temperatures are dropping, I thought it might be a good idea to dig the jeans out from the bottom of the drawers. Now there is one huge difference between jeans and stretchy pants that I must have forgotten, one gives, the other takes some persuasion. The good thing about jeans is that if you are wearing them all of the time and they become snug, you can just do a little extra walking and they are fitting comfortable in no time. Stretchy pants it seems are just begging for a second helping of chocolate and a little less walking. So imagine my surprise when after a whole summer of stretchy pants, I pull on the old jeans and for some reason...well not some reason...the reason plainly is that the button is a not even remotely close to the hole. Sheesh! Now I am stuck in stretchy pants for another few days of walking to work. I really should have tried on my jeans sooner! Now I am going to be out there freezing my calves off walking to work at 7:30! Don't think that I haven't enjoyed my summer of stretchy pants though! They are so great and giving! I feel like I can do anything in them, like riding a horse, scaling a mountain, or even becoming a world famous luchador...just saying!

9 Already?

2010-09-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to my dear sweet little Athens. She is 9 today. In keeping up with my friends' tradition of making a list of all of the birthday child's wonderful traits as long as they are old, here is mine for Athens:

#1- She loves my cooking. That is always a huge ego boost. She came from a long line of scrap cats and will just about eat anything that I give her....well, that just deflated my ego a little actually now that I think of it....anyways, Shanty isn't a fan of people food so it is nice to have someone to cook for!
#2- She hasn't quite figured out yet that it is my feet that move under the covers while she is sleeping on the bed. Every morning when I start to wake up, even if she is in a dead sleep, the minute she sees movement under the covers she attacks.
#3- She loves me enough to bring me the most delicate parts of her favorite prey's innards. Enough said.
#4- She knows the rules. My apartment complex allows for 1 cat only. This being said, whenever they come over for check up's or maintenance, she knows her place in the back corner under the bed.
#5- She is a rebellious little rule breaker. Refer to #4
#6- She is a fierce protector! I usually only have to call her name in a panic when I am being attacked by moths or large bugs and she is there to gobble them up.
#7- She is snugly.
#8- She has the sweetest little meow!
and #9- I love her because I know that the only human that she love is just me! Most people that come over only thing that I have one cat because she hides whenever anyone else comes over, but she never hides from me.
Happy birthday my little girl!

The Friends FHE

2010-08-31T16:27:00.000-07:00

The week after the big family FHE in the previous post, I got together with my friends and their families for an Amazing Race FHE. It was so great! The participants were:
The Porter's

The Nielsen's

The Holt's

The Bailey's

and the Hertz

(Hahah! I just got a good look at all of the family pictures just now and they are hilarious!)
I put together all 8 of the legs of the race and my parents helped me execute them! The legs went as followed:
#1- A bag full of sand and puzzle pieces. You had to find all the pieces, put the puzzle together, and turn it over to reveal the next location that was written on the back of the puzzle.
#2- Human Darts. One person smears whipped cream all over their face and stands as the dart board while their partner throws cheese balls at them in attempt to hit their nose.
#3- They were given a picture after completing the previous leg, of a headstone in a graveyard. The clue for the next leg was behind that particular headstone.
#4- Sauerkraut eating contest... :D
#5- They were given a paper with 10 countries listed on it and 5 flags. They had to correctly identify the countries flags from the 10 listed countries.
#6- A potato peeling contest.
#7- They had to break a large piece of ice and frozen inside was a key that unlocked a small box that had the location to the finish line.
#8- A race to the finish line.

We started on the east side of town and ended on the far west side of town using a lot of different parks along the way. All of the families were able to participate up to the sauerkraut eating contest, where one team each leg was eliminated. At the end we had zingers for the losers and a trophy waiting for winners. Congrats to the Bailey family for taking the trophy. It was a cut throat race especially when it was down to the final 2 teams. I am pretty sure that they both broke the no speeding rule but a fun time was had by all. I am sad that I didn't get more photos! I am also sad that I couldn't be there to watch all of the legs! Next time I hope to make it even longer and a lot more challenging!

The Family FHE

2010-08-31T15:13:00.000-07:00

A few Monday's ago the Welker family got together for a reunion with the Bristol's. They are a family that Grandma and Grandpa met while serving their mission in California. They try and make the trek up to Idaho every year or every other year. It is always a fun time to get together with them and the family and catch up. I think that family togetherness is where it's at!

The Bristol's brought with them several huge squash to try and give away, the nieces and nephews were loving them!

Fun in Island Park

2010-08-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

Being with 11 kids and two of my besties in the mountains at a fun cabin is the perfect recipe for a day off! Luckily that day off also landed on the night of the meteor shower, a cool overcast day, and the West Yellowstone Mountain Man Rendezvous. Needless to say, there was plenty of things to do and we had a blast! Thanks Viki!

Family Hike Day

2010-08-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our annual family hike day. This year we took a route scouted out by James that was in Victor close to Power Line Road. It was a great hike and beautiful day to be in Victor! The kids all did really well and loved being together with their cousins. We only hiked one way and had a truck waiting for us at the end of the trail and I think that the ride back in the truck was the highlight of the trip for sure! It made me laugh to see the happy looks on the kids faces as their hair was blowing in the wind. Driggs was celebrating its 100 anniversary so for lunch we drove down there and had a picnic and joined in on all the festivities. Unfortunately for Abby, on the ride home, her little stomach had had too much of the drive and we all got to enjoy seeing her lunch....a second time. I however, who according to my mom, "Will make a horrible mother someday", had to get out of the car and walk home because of my own gag reflex...good thing we weren't far from my house! It was just a little hiccup....well, puke, to a more than perfect day spent with the family!

Fishing With the Bailey's

2010-08-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

On July 26th for FHE, the Bailey's invited me to go with them to Victor for a little fishing. Since I had neither pole or licence, I helped the kids and enjoyed the scenery. There was a huge bald eagle perched on one of the trees close by that was amazing and the surroundings were gorgeous as ever! All of the kids caught themselves plenty of fish since the pond was well stocked. Watching Miles react to seeing a fish up close for the first time was very humorous!

Omea's Blessing Day

2010-08-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

And she shall be named Omea'ke'akua Waioleka Kane

Luau at the Kane's

2010-08-08T15:46:00.000-07:00

Norm Kane has officially retired, which means he is now working for free! :D His kids planned a surprise luau for him, and there was much rejoicing!

Philly!

2010-08-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun going to Philadelphia to help Carol move back home while Jason finishes up his rotations. It was so great to meet little Omea who is 3 months old already. Kalele has grown up into quite the little girl! I just love the Kane family! We had a great time! Aside from cleaning and getting everything ready for the move, we enjoyed a lot of fun things! My top three favorites were #1: our trip to Wildwood NJ for a day at the beach:

Even though I didn't get any pictures, I was actually swimming out there with a bunch of sharks, which is my dream come true! I am fascinated by sharks so all in all, it really was the perfect day!
#2: our trip to the Philly zoo:

The baby clinging to it's mother was born last year on my birthday!

Carol's favorite, the hippo

Omea, giving us her best tiger roar
And #3: our trip to the African market! We went to the zoo with a bunch of people in Carol's ward and later that day we had to drop a sack off that was in her car to some ladies who work in the African market. Markets are my very favorite things to visit when I am in other countries and so it was fun to visit and learn about the different things in the market and I am sure the ladies all loved showing us!

All in all, it was a great trip and I am so glad to have them back home and so close!

Hiking!

2010-08-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

In June (I'm catching up) Jana and Mark and their kids: Kesa, Kassie, Kaden, and Kaleb came to visit from Omaha and I traveled with them you Utah. We went spelunking in the Timpanogos caves and had a fabulous time! We also got in plenty of pool time at the hotel and the girls and I shared a room and caught up on all the day to day boy drama that they are dealing with :D...aren't girls so fun!
Kaleb was celebrating his birthday the last day of our trip and so he chose to go to a Pirate themed restaurant. It was good food and good atmosphere....until the karaoke started. Oh man! I heard some of the worse singing ever! My sister in law Tanya and her kids met up with us since they were on their way back to Denver and they suffered through the karaoke with us.

Kesa and Kiersten actually got up and did a song, I was so proud of them for staying on key :D.

I love spending time with my family!

A Peaceful Summer Evening

2010-08-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

60's Worth Celebrating!

2010-08-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

The old gal turned 60 in April and we threw her a surprise birthday party and all of my siblings and grandparents were there for a few days to help celebrate! We had a wonderful time bowling and going to dinner and playing games. It is funny to me to see my family all grown up. We still all act the same around each other, just that our voices have changed and we look older. I wish that it were a yearly thing to get all of the siblings together, but alas. It was sure fun while it lasted!

Linda's Puppies

2010-08-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

If you look very careful at this picture, you will see a kennel full of the cutest puppies you have ever seen! They are my friend Linda's wire hair Griffon's. They have since been all sold (I know, I know, I am behind a little). I am sure one day, her dog Sage will have another litter so if you have fallen in love with them from this picture, I know where you could possibly get one!

A Day On Bernadine's Farm

2010-08-06T13:09:00.000-07:00

In April (ya, ya, I'm behind a little, don't judge!) I went up and spent the day with my friend Bernadine and two of her girls and grand babies. She has a fabulous little farm and the sweetest little cabin. Here are a few things that I saw:

She has since sold the farm and moved the family to Island Park to run a restaurant so be on the lookout for pictures of their new adventures when I stop for a visit!

The Greatest Weekend Ever!

2010-04-14T12:48:00.000-07:00

I know that I am already WAYYYYY behind in my post but it would be sad for me not to mention how great Easter weekend was! I had a blast! This is about how the weekend went: Friday, Linda, Ciara, Maelynn and I made it down to Utah just in time for a Tongan feast. It was fun to see so many people and have so much great food. I swear that every bite I took added food to my plate because after awhile I was full and so was my plate! Saturday was spent with Viki, Linda, Tom, Miles, and Emily touring the new Deseret Book and listening to Conference in the sunshine (and brisk wind). Later that night we hit Rodizio's and I met up with my old friend Ryan who I was so glad to get to see! Saturday night we stayed up playing trivia. It amazes me how competitively knowledgeable the Grobergs are! I LOVE it! I love the feeling of being kept on my toes! The next morning I played them in Dutch Blitz and even though I never did see the final score, I am sure the 4 of us were neck and neck!! Sunday afternoon Linda and I went to Conference. Thanks to the Grobergs for seats right down on the 5th row...even though we weren't able to get down there. It was fun taking the tunnel back to the car and seeing all the half fake/half real flower arrangements. I am glad Sister Groberg loves flowers as much as I do and can appreciate the real ones over the fake! All in all it was a fabulous weekend! I feel blessed to be able to sit in the same room as my Prophet. Conference is good no matter where you hear or see it, but there is such a powerful feeling being close and feeling the love of all the brothern in that huge building. I feel my Saviors love. Thanks to all who made the weekend such a great one!

Gnorm

2010-03-27T14:57:00.001-07:00

In an effort to make my blog less "snoozy", a random picture of a gnome.

Happy 64th Alan!

2010-02-21T17:03:00.000-08:00

Melody

2010-02-21T16:56:00.000-08:00

How cute is this little girl?! My brother James and his wife Audra have added a new baby girl to their brood and here she is on her blessing day:

The Scandinavian Cookbook

2010-02-21T16:41:00.000-08:00

As a treat to myself for Christmas this year, I ordered a Scandinavian cookbook. Do you realize how hard it is to find one of those in a book store?! Out of the literally hundreds of cookbooks at Barnes and Noble there isn't a single one! I was so excited for it to arrive! Here's which one I chose:

I was inspired a bit by the movie Julie and Julia and decided to brush up on my cooking so I have been trying one new recipe every week, typically on Monday, and I have really been loving it! Why Scandinavian you ask? Well there is a cooking program called Perfect Day that is all Scandinavian food that I just can't seem to get enough of! Everything that they make looks soooo good! So expect some tasty looking posts on here of what I have been cooking, here is the first first success, Norwegian Pancakes:

Catching Up On Christmas

2010-02-21T15:49:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I am totally behind! I am sure that I am on the very bottom of all your blog lists, but I have been busy....and lazy. To catch up starting back to Christmas Eve..was it really that long ago?...Here's what's happened:

Christmas Eve night we had our traditional family wii bowl-a-thon:

Here is my Christmas tree....remember...the one we cut down a few posts back. It didn't fit in the house so I set it up outside and magically, Christmas Eve, all these gifts appeared from my secret elf friends (love you guys!). All sorts of wonderful things for me and the cats....speaking of cats....the door jam in this picture is apparently some cats scratching post!! Thank heavens mine don't have claws or they would be in BIG trouble!!

Christmas day was spent at my parents with Megan, Abby, Hunter, and Grandma M:

Can you guess who's turn it was to pass out the gifts this year? Here's a hint:

That's right! It was Daddy-o's turn, only because Christmas Day also happened to be his 60th birthday! Happy Late Birthday Daddy-o!:

For Christmas I received this cool camera, in which all my new blog photo's will be taken on! It has taken some time to get used to it, here are some pic's of me and Abby testing it out:

I really love Christmas and being with my family! I hope that everyone else had a wonderful Christmas as well....2 months ago!

The Year That Was

2009-12-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

I always have good intentions of sending out Christmas cards every year, but it just never happens. I think it is because I personally think I'm a boring person. But, after looking back on this years photo's, I have found that there were a LOT of noteworthy things that have come to pass. So here is my Christmas letter, in pictures.

I celebrated a lot of birthdays:

Grew a garden:

Went to a wedding:

Crocheted:

Got a new look:

Had visits from family and friends from far away:

There was a baptism:

An ordaining:

A graduation:

I made some new friends:

I spent some time at the Lake:

Attended some luau's:

Tackled Girls Camp:

Grew a mustache:

Took a trip:

Took a hike:

Went to a ball game:

Got grossed out:

And welcomed new family members:

I hope that you all take the time to reflect on the positive things that have happened in your life this past year and are mindful of where those opportunities and blessings flow from. A Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Hooray For 3 Birthday's On the Same Day!

2009-12-22T10:36:00.000-08:00

Hunter had a birthday last night and is now the ripe old age of 4! Happy Birthday Hunter! It was also Spencer and Kesa's birthday and they are both 14. I wished that they weren't in Colorado and Nebraska so we could have one big celebration, but since that isn't the case, I am sure that they partied it up with their families. Love you guys!

Not a Creature Was Stirring, Not Even a Mouse....

2009-12-22T10:34:00.001-08:00

....was the theme I was going for with these egg, radish, mustard, and carrot appetizers for the Christmas party. They just made me laugh!

The Welker Family Christmas Party

2009-12-22T10:20:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was the Welker Christmas Party. My personal favorite time of the year! It was great to get together for a huge Italian dinner. There were games (thanks Colleen) and of course the singing of Christmas carols, played with much enthusiasm by Grandma of course! Even Landon gave us a piano carol! I love my family! Can't wait until next year. And to all of the family that missed it, I hope you can join us next year!

Welcome Welcome Melody!

2009-12-22T10:06:00.000-08:00

I have the sweetest new niece! She smells so fresh and beautiful! Congrats James and Audra! I can tell that her brothers and sister already love her very much!

Some Of the Best Kids Of All Time

2009-12-22T10:01:00.000-08:00

There has to be something said about the hilarious kids that I am constantly finding myself surrounded by! I think that everyone knows how much I love my nieces and nephews, that is just a given, but there are also my friends kids who I find very funny! They can really make my day! They have the most hilarious personalities and do and say the most random things. They are all unique in their own way. I wished that I had pictures of all of them, but I don't, but they know who they are! Here are a few of them that I actually have pictures of:

The Christmas Tree Cutting Expedition

2009-12-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

This year I joined the Bailey's and the Holt's in search for 5 of the best Christmas trees that Pine Creek Pass had to offer. It was the most perfect day to be in the mountains and after a long search, we found what we were looking for. I had so much fun! Thanks for the invite!

GWO

2009-11-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

Forget girls night out! Try girls WEEKEND out!! Triple the fun and excitement! We all had a wonderful time in Island Park at the Groberg cabin...once we had all safely arrived (a slide off and 2 run away car incidents later). The gals were mainly there to do some scrap booking but other festivities included beading, eating Chinese, movie watching, chocolate eating, wonderful conversations...for the most part (:D), eating Chinese, knitting, cooking, an occasional nap, BSing (the card game of course), and crocheting. To Viki and little Miles, Linda, Terri, Susan, Shay, and Camy, thanks for a great time and for being such wonderful people! I am not going to get too emotional about you all, I have a certain appearance to maintain.....besides, it seems like whenever I start to talk about you, Stevie Wonder starts playing his harmonica intro to "That's What Friends Are For" in my head. It is best to just tell you all that you are the greatest!! In good times, in bad times, I'll be by your side forever more........dang it...

The Quarter

2009-11-21T07:18:00.001-08:00

Take a good hard look at this quarter. It should take full responsibility for teaching me a lesson last week! I know that it looks like just a regular ordinary quarter, but if you look again, you will notice that it lacks in luster and is dull and chipped around the edges. I first came in contact with this particular quarter when I exchanged some change in my pocket for two quarters at work to use in the peanut m&m slot in the vending machine. While pondering over my beloved peanut m&m's and the new arrival of the hot tamales, I was holding both quarters in my hand side by side. They were stark contrast to each other, the other quarter being a new, shiny, Georgia edition quarter. It's edges were perfect and it had obviously sat lovingly in someones pocket and hadn't gotten around much. It almost made me want to despise the worn quarter....that is until I turned it over the crusty quarter and discovered its date....1978, the same year of my birth! This quarter is as old as I am. Here I am judging this dull and disgusting looking, old quarter when it isn't any older than me! Rather than admiring it for its years of travel and all of the good that it has obviously done, I was only looking on its outer appearance. I felt awful! So right then and there, I shoved the perky quarter into the peanut m&m slot, and lovingly placed the warn quarter into my pocket. Us oldies need to look out for each other.

Smiles From Miles

2009-11-10T13:44:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how big Viki's little Miles is getting! He is so sweet, especially when he smiles!

The Sad Results of Mean Cats!

2009-11-10T13:39:00.000-08:00

Poor Athens was attacked on our porch by a stray Siamese cat. He did a real number on her. A vet bill, shaved back, a bunch of stiches, and a few tubes later, this is the result. She is doing better now and gets the tubes out tomorrow! I am so glad! Mean cat!

Happy (late) Halloween!

2009-11-10T13:30:00.000-08:00

Shannon and her kids stopped by to show off their Halloween costumes. Shannon wore her mother in laws vintage clothes from the 70's and looked like someone who belonged in crowd of a later taping of the Lawrence Welk Show, Makiah was a devil, Tyson was a joker, Trevin (I believe)was Darth Vadar, and Mylee was a little Indian girl. Being a good aunt, when they stopped by, because I didn't have any candy, they all got corn nuts instead! I figure that the corn nuts would jam up the holes in their teeth enough that sugar wouldn't be able to penetrate them! We shall soon see!

Savannah, Dakotah, and Colby

2009-11-10T13:11:00.000-08:00

Clay's yearly fishing trip for his birthday landed him in Idaho for a week so naturally Andrea and the girls came along for a great visit! Even though I never did see Clay because of our schedules, I took the girls out for lunch and a movie. We had a great time! The movie was great and for lunch all Dakotah wanted was ice cream, and being a good aunt, that is exactly what she got! Colby is growing like a weed and he is such a sweet baby, so happy. Thanks for the visit! Love you guys! Come visit again soon!

A Quarter Dozen

2009-11-10T13:05:00.000-08:00

Splitting up a dozen roses. What a great concept! I never buy a dozen because it is too many, and I never buy a single because I hate to see it alone in a vase! Splitting it up and sharing it with others to enjoy, what a simple way to make merry! I was glad to be on the receiving end of such a great concept! Thanks Linda!

The Last of the Summer Geraniums

2009-10-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

It is always hard to see the summer flowers freeze up but for me it is the hardest to loose my geraniums. Even though I couldn't save all of them, I brought in a few, in order to have that amazing smell all winter long. The geranium leaf smell is a VERY acquired smell, to me they smell like carrots, and I love them!

Fall Nap

2009-10-19T08:54:00.001-07:00

They could nap through a hurricane! Lucky devils!

Pistachio Bread

2009-10-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

Hooray for a tasty batch of pistachio bread! One of my all time favorites!

#3 Makeover

2009-10-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

There comes a time in every greenhouses life to get a fresh, new cover. This year, greenhouse #3 got its turn. It is always a fun adventure filled with high beam balancing and creative dismounts. It takes about 7 people a half a day to complete but once it is finished it looks brand new and is tight and weather proof.

The Second Nastiest Thing On the Planet

2009-10-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

If you follow my blog, you already know what I consider to be the nastiest thing on the planet, here is the runner up:

The grossest part, besides the slime and just plain yuckiness, is that it is eating a rotten tomato! Nasty! :(

The Dominican Republic

2009-10-03T08:38:00.001-07:00

With life being as crazy as it has been the last month, it has really been hard to try and find any motivation to blog...well that, and the fact that I was out of the country for 2 weeks. So I will just start by recapping the highlights of the Dominican Republic. I was contacted by Farmer to Farmer, an organization that sets up projects in other countries. They asked if I would be interested in helping with a project that involved pepper production in the rural mountains of the DR. It was truly a great experience and I am glad that I had the opportunity! I had this same opportunity a few years ago in Haiti, with the same organization, working in seedling production. I left on the 31st of Aug. and returned the 13th of September. Some of my favorite things about the trip were; spending time in the villages with the women, in their homes, even getting some great recipes from them and helping cook a meal or two, seeing their wonderful strength, hard work and determination in the greenhouses, and even a little dance party that was held in my honor! The roads leading to a lot of the places that we went were very treacherous and I wondered a lot of times if we were going to make it! Especially when we had to cross a deep, fast flowing river, thank heavens for 4 wheel drive! It is such a great thing to be in these little communities where everyone knows everyone, and they keep an eye out for each other and their doors are always open and at night they all get together on their porches and shoot the breeze. It was so great spending time with one family in particular. Nancy, the mother and her 2 daughters and son, spent the majority of their nights teaching me funny Spanish phrases. The little hut we were staying in was situated next to village doctors office. The girl working there was an intern from Santa Domingo, her name is Talia, and it was her idea to arrange a dance party. Being a doctors office, she has a generator which lit her house, but more importantly, powered the ghetto blasters. We listened to barracha and mariachi bands into the early morning hours every day! That is the other thing that I just loved about the DR, well any foreign country, the ability to let loose and sing and dance and have a good time! The work that I did was a great learning opportunity for all of the parties involved (I hope). I toured their facilities and pointed out problems and came up with solutions with their brainstorming. Without a lot to work with and heat and humidity being especially hard to work around, there aren't a lot of options but hopefully we have made some changes, or at least got the think tanks working enough that they will be able to come up with solutions that will best work for their needs. There are a million things that I can say about the DR, I could go on all day, I love the people and I love that I was able to have the opportunity and hope to go back someday! If you were wanting to know more about what Farmer to Farmer does, I have linked their blog to mine. Check it out! Here are some of the MANY shots I took while I was there:

My New Cat

2009-08-24T08:32:00.001-07:00

While watering the plants yesterday I noticed that I have a stray cat....catface spider that is. I think that they are amazing spiders and I am glad that he chose my plants to live on, that way I know that he/she is taking care of all of the wanted pests that cause harm to my plants. Catface spiders are also one of the only spiders that will go head to head with a hobo spider when they are provoked. So, welcome friend, make yourself at home....outside, that is!

Family Hike Day 2009

2009-08-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

We had a great time on our family hike adventure. It was a very toasty day but all of the kids were really good sports. It was a lot steeper than I thought that it would be especially coming down, since we were on large shale pieces just about the whole way. Only a couple of falls and one very upset Abby when a bug came her way. All in all it was a great day!

Meet Emma Christina

2009-08-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I have a little side business that I run. It is not so much a dating service as it is a match making service. Luckily I have been VERY successful due to the fact that I am a self proclaimed judger of personalities. This far in my career I have set up 9 successful couples, (18 dear friends) and have come close on at least 5 more, with a few in the works as we speak. When I initially set people up I tell them that my fee is a plane ticket to London, or they have to name a child after me, which I know is odd because I am not even that fond of the name Christina! Anyways, I haven't been as strict as I have needed, as you can tell, since I haven't been to London in years. But all my hard work has finally paid off! One of the first couples that I matched up was Justin and Natalie Wheeler, even though this is their 4th daughter, I am glad that someone was serious about my demands, meet Emma Christina Wheeler!

I haven't met her yet but her parents tell me that she possesses 2 traits that us Christina's share: we sleep with our ankles crossed, and we have feisty little attitudes, when we want to! Congrats Justin and Natalie, and thanks for keeping the name Christina alive!

A Day at the Lake!

2009-08-11T16:45:00.000-07:00

I am glad that Rigby Lake is close by, and I have been making it a weekly trip on my day off! It is so fun to have other people come too! Terri, Susan, Viki and I and their families went a few weeks back and had so much fun! Last week it was so fun to have Linda and her family join! Cousin Marianne and her boys were also there to share in the fun for our monthly Cajama Day! It was a warm day, in fact, my shoulders are still peeling, gross! I spend most of my time while there in the water so I haven't gotten may pictures but Marianne and I snapped a few last week:

The Nastiest Thing on the Planet

2009-08-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

Slugs truly are the most disgusting thing to ever slime their way onto this earth. I can't handle the sight of them!! They make me all pukey which is why I would never be a good resident in an area like Portland, home to the famed banana slug. Rarely at work do we ever find any slug over the size of a small rock, but even the sight of those and I feel queasy! Imagine how I felt when the boys found this guy for me the other day!:

There are no words to describe how gross this guy was! I am just glad that they are only very, very, very, infrequent visitors here!

The Baptism, The Blessing, and The Wedding

2009-08-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

It was so great to have family in town for three wonderful occasions! First off was Makiah's baptism. I can't believe she is the ripe old age of 8, where has time gone? Second was little Colby's baby blessing. It was the first time that I got to meet little Colby and he is a sweet little baby. Clay and his family came from Washington to have him blessed and to be with family. Last was cousin Sara's wedding. I only made it for the reception and I wish her and her new husband all the best of luck in their new life together. Here are some of the pictures I snapped during all of the festivities of the day:

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2009-07-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

Some of the family got together on Monday for a night of baseball. James and Audra and their kids came from Victor, despite the fact that James has a sprained ankle that is super ugly. Shannon, Justin and the parents were there also. It was the perfect night! The temperature was cool, the game was good, and the people spotting/mullet counting was never better!

Shannon and Cameron

James, Devin, Cameron, and mom

Devin and Rebekah

Twilight? :(

2009-07-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

All three of my sister are convinced that Twilight is just where it's at! To be honest, I can't stand them! They make me all snoozy and I don't see the romance in a relationship between a young girl and a 100 + old sparkly man who sneaks into girls rooms and watches them sleep...if it isn't okay for crazy men to do that in Rexburg at the college, it should be okay to do anywhere else, but that's just me, and I know that my opinion is the minority! They are so excited for the new movie?! Anyways, in order to try and convince me it was great, Jana and Megan did their best vampire impression:

Sorry guys, I'm still not convinced, but good try!

Shannon's Birthday Party

2009-07-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

My sister Shannon had her birthday at just the right time, while everyone was in town! It was so great to get some of the family together! Hope that you had a wonderful birthday Shannon.

The Ladies Go Bowling

2009-07-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

Bowling has never been my favorite sport, I love it on the wii but in real life I am really no good at it. We decided to try it anyways though and even though I lost, I didn't feel bad because we had a great time!

Jana Was Here!

2009-07-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

For a week, my older sister Jana came to visit from Omaha. We usually see her only once a year if we are lucky! I told her that I would post all the pictures, except for the embarrassing chair ballet video we made so here's to you Jana! Love you!

Die Hard For Tennis

2009-07-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

Being around the 4th of July, it is Wimbledon season again! One of me and my dad's favorite things too watch. I wasn't as interested this year for some reason but my dad sat and watched all the matches including old Billy Jean King and Chris Evert matches! He was so into his game he didn't want to be distracted even long enough for me to take a picture :) sorry dad, I got it anyways!

Two Luau's

2009-07-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

In the past few weeks I have been to two different luau's! I love them and I am glad to get invited. The first was at Terri "the hula" Porters. It was full of great food and wonderful dancing. Terri did a great job! Thanks Terri!!

The second was a ward social for my new ward. It was complete with a cooked pig...face still attached and all...I decided I wasn't a huge fan but it was tasty none the less!

Two Lessons Learned From the Trampoline

2009-06-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

Lesson #1: I am not as young as I used to be

Lesson #2: When you ask your mom mid-jump how her bladder is holding up and she shouts back "DEPENDS", that could have more than one meaning!

The Bailey Garden

2009-06-22T07:19:00.001-07:00

Thanks to the Bailey family, I had a place to plant some vegetables this year! They have two raised container gardens and we stuffed them just as full as we could with all sorts of tasty things! Here is how it is looking:

With all of the rain and hail, I am surprised it looks so good. I credit either our mad skills or Gandalf the Grey who keeps watch over it while we are away!

The First Spoils of the Season!

2009-06-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

Hooray for my first cabbage of the season!!

My Container Garden

2009-06-17T13:05:00.001-07:00

With all the rain that we have been blessed with in the past month I am glad that all of my flowers (and a few cucumbers and houseplants) are in pots and I was able to keep them out of the bad weather. They are coming along nicely!

The Secret Spot

2009-06-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

Clementine (the happiest dog in Southeast Idaho) and I have stumbled upon a nice and quiet, shady, cool, and peaceful spot to spend time relaxing and reading good books. It is right next to water so that is my favorite, and there are plenty of birds in the trees overhead and little ground squirrels in the patch of dirt to the south of it, so you know Clem is happy! I am glad I found this little secret spot....it makes summer in Idaho bearable!

Rigby Lake

2009-06-07T15:00:00.001-07:00

Ever since the puke in the pool incident at my apartment complex, I have been hesitant about getting back in so I decided a larger body of water was what I was craving. Funny how millions of bacteria and an occasion leach don't bother me at all but a little puke, I can't handle. Being my day off I set out with two of my sisters, a brother in law, and 6 nieces and nephews! The weather started off VERY cold and windy but an hour or so later the sun was out and gave me the worse sunburn of the season! We had a picnic and swam....well I swam and the kids waded. My sister Megan won't even touch her toe in the water because she is convinced there are sharks in any water that isn't a swimming pool. We had a great time and I am thinking about going every week! They have put a pay toll outside of the Lake though so it is now $5 a car, so maybe I am going to have to just suck it up and swim at home, we'll see.

Parking It

2009-06-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I was in Blackfoot visiting Megan, Hunter, and Abby. It was nice sitting in the cool grass watching the kids play and catching up on sister stuff with Megan!

I made Hunter a bouquet of weeds for his lapel pocket.

Too Big for The Nest

2009-06-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

It has been fun all spring watching the Robins feet from my window going through the parenting process. I was there for the laying of the eggs, the hatching of the eggs and now for the descent from the tree. It sort of makes me filled like a glorified aunt, minus the cravings for worms. Of the 4 babies in the nest, two decided to leave early, on the most rainy day of the year! Now I know from watching PBS documentaries that you are just supposed to let nature take its course, but with nightfall coming on I couldn't let them be subjected to the stray cats, which I have already mentioned. I think that I was panicking more than the parents. It makes it twice as hard when you are trying to shoo the fluffy little hoppers to a safe location and all of the immediate family is swooping down on you trying to peck your eyes out! In the end I was able to huddle them together in a safe place and the other two have since flown the nest and all is well. I will miss them and hope they visit often!

The Hiding Place

2009-06-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

I don't know why it is that my apartment is a magnet for stray cats but it is a phenomenon that I have noticed ever since I have moved in. I am sure that it have nothing to do with the large pot of catnip sitting next to the door. In the past, if my door is left open for more than a half hour, I will find cats quietly invading my house under the bed, in window sills, in the tub, or in the cupboard under the sink. My latest stray is a Siamese kitten with a charming personality and a brazen manner to match! It doesn't mind running into my house when I open the door a crack, even if my two cats are sitting by the door hissing at it, it walks right in and helps itself to their food and MY bed! I have been trying to run it out of the house for the past few days but now it has just gotten faster and sneakier. If it makes it past the door without me seeing it hides til it gets the all clear. Here is its clever but VERY obvious spot:

The Sticker

2009-05-24T13:51:00.001-07:00

When I came to work on Saturday morning there was a sticker sitting on my desk that someone has left. It is a picture of a cartoon cat and dog with there tails entwined to make a heart and is reads "Furry Friends Are Faithful Friends". Since it is Appreciate Your Pet Month this month here is a big shout out to the greatest cats ever!

Colorful Containers

2009-05-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

I am kicking myself for not getting photos of some of my best containers ever this year before they were sold. There were still a few left to snap photos of. It is amazing how fast time flies, our full greenhouses are now in a state of half emptiness. It is so nice to see it all go though!

Abby's Big Graduation

2009-05-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

Abby has officially graduated from Preschool! Sheesh that girl is growing up fast!!

Carol Was Here!

2009-05-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

What a great month it has been having Carol, Jason and Kalele visiting from Philly. The month went by so fast though and I am sad that it is gone. We had some great fun while they were here though. One day in particular we all (friends, family, aunts, and cousins)got together for a huge pot luck lunch and knitting and crocheting day. It was so much fun. I loved getting to know some of Carol's cousins on the other side of her family. It was held at the old Harker house that is now the new Frost house down by the river in Shelley.

We had a pretty amazing spread!

I worked on crocheting baby booties with Steph while Carol read us the pattern here is what one of the soles of the booties looks like:

I will make sure to snap a photo of the finished product! It was such an enjoyable time the only sad part was when we all had to go!

Another fun night was when we got together a group of some of the old branch members. Those were the good old times and it felt good to be with so many people who bring back good memories!

It was so great spending Sunday's at the Kane's watching the Amazing Race and playing games too! They introduced me to Quiddler which is a super fun card game for wordies. All in all it has been a great month and I can't wait for their next visit!

Celebrate, Celebrate, Dance to the Music!

2009-05-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

There is nothing like a celebration, and I have seen many of them in the last two weeks! From little celebrations,

like the blooming of my amaryillis, to bigger celebrations

like a robin becoming a mother for the very first time,

or finally getting up to the mountains to get a little mud on Ian to the biggest of celebrations, the people in my life getting another year older! I have been there to document them all! Even though the weather has been just gloom and doom, rest assurred my family has definately been enjoying themselves! Because it is going to be hard for me to remember the exact order, I am going to go backwards, starting first with Megan's birthday. My little sister, an old lady.

Her birthday was on the 4th and even though she got the shaft on a family party we saw her the day before at Tyson's ordination. Love you Megan, sorry you got the shaft! Speaking about my nephew Tyson,

I can't believe how big he has gotten! He is taller than me in my 3" heels! He had his birthday on the 19th and turned 14. I can still remember when they brought him home after his long hospital stay. He only weighed a few pounds but look at the boy now! Happy birthday Tyson, love you! He wasn't the only nephew/niece having a birthday, my neice Kiersten had a birthday too! I am sad she is in Colordao but I heard there was a great celebration! On the 29th of April the big mama of the house had a birthday and we had a big celebration with red velvet cupcakes, our thanks to Shannon, and a great time with family. Happy birthday mama!

But the big daddy of all birthday parties in the last two weeks goes to Grandpa Welker. I hear that you only turn 80 once and we made a BIG deal about it. His party was put together but my aunt and uncle. I was under the impression that it was going to be a large family gathering but when I got to the Hardhat Grill, where they were having it, I walked into a room of at least 50 people that were and were not related. Some I knew as a kid, others were old friends.

They were all invited to help him celebrate the wonderful occassion. The joy of watching his shell shock face as he entered the room and tried to fight back his tears was priceless and I wouldn't have missed it for the world! I love you very much Grandpa and hope that you have may wonderful birthday's to come!

Oh No! I Did it Again!

2009-04-20T16:25:00.000-07:00

I skipped another week! All of the sudden the week is gone, then another, and there is so much that I needed to blog about, since this is the only thing close to a journal that I will ever have! Starting off with....it's a bird, it's a plane....it's

CLEMENTINE! We just love this little guy! Well he is sort of big, but we love him all the same! We have had him for awhile now and he is getting a little lonely now that he has to stay out back or somewhere out of the way since we are WAY to busy to watch him. It is fun to play with him on lunch breaks though!!

For the past little while, it has been impossible to keep nozzles on our hoses, they just up and disappear! No one know where they go but someone has a nice collection of new shinny nozzles! To solve the problem the 4 greenhouse workers now carry around our own nozzles. They are a little cumbersome so I crocheted some little baggies to put them in.

I didn't get a picture of the final product because I dressed them up with ribbon and lettering specific to each waterer! It was great fun!
Easter Sunday has come and gone. I spent it at the parents with Megan and John and Hunter and Abby. Shannon and her girls came out too! I had a great time filling and hiding eggs.

Annie, the fat beagle from next door came over to help Hunter find his eggs

I must remember next year however that the grand kids are a lot shorter than me. That did pose a few problems. Abby showed me some of her trampoline skills and I showed her some of mine, I am glad I still have them!

All in all it was a great time! The cats even enjoyed taking a nice nap in the sunshine since it was a beautiful day!

Last Wednesday was the Tax Rally Tea Party downtown. There were hundreds of people that showed up!

I was surprised because of the bad weather that we were having. It just goes to show that Republicans, Democrats, Liberals, and everyone in between are sick and tired of having their hard earn money abused by our governments appetite to spend. I was saddened by a lot of the uninformed media hype over this peaceful rally! In many states, those out lobbying were pegged as right wing extremists and I hear now that anyone involved in the rallies are a threat to homeland security....ooooohhh....watch out homeland, I might just plant something! They don't call me a tree hugger for nothing! But seriously, it was great to be a part of something that really was a historic event, with over 1 million people across the U. S. participating. I love my country! My grandparents have instilled that in me somehow and I will be forever grateful! No matter how far I travel, it is always so nice to come home to the US of A! You will never know how good you have it until you spend time away from it!

Where Did Last Week Go?

2009-04-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

Typically I post a new blog on Sunday's highlighting the highs, and occasional lows of the previous week, I see now that I skipped a week. The greenhouses makes it almost impossible to have any contact with human life other than co-workers. I see more plants than people that is for sure! I have decided that there was apparently nothing news worthy that happened two weeks back so I am just going to skip it. The following week, last week, however was quite the week of up and downs, changes, and improvements, and a one heart break. Starting with the 28th. Jemela was in Pocatello for the weekend visiting her family so Ashley and I took a road trip to visit her and we ended up running over to the Spring Fair. We had a great time and I ran into a few friends there, in particular my friend Dawn Woods. It was great shooting the breeze over a foot massage and chatting about new flowers and gardening, our passion. All in all it was a good night despite just barely grazing a deer with the hood of my car on the way home. It is okay, don't panic, Ian was unharmed. It was a bit scary though. Nothing else new until Thursday. The dreaded eye exam. I know that I am getting blinder as the years go by but I was shocked to find out that I am actually seeing a little farther, just that the prescription needed a total over haul and the glasses that I had been wearing for the past 10 years, that finally broke, needed to be replaced. He also recommended that I wear glasses more often to help my sight as well, so here they are:

Here they are close up and in color...

The real selling point for me was the fact that the color is called celery. I am a geek that way. Not neglecting the feet after pampering the eyes so much, I also bought a new pair of shoes! A walking job deserves some rugged shoes and Merrells do just the trick!

I am loving them more and more each day! Thursday was also the day of Abby's big 5 birthday party!

We had a great party for her. We all got there early except Shannon who was getting her kids together and to pass the time we played eye spy out the front window but I don't think think it helped their present opening anticipation at all. Hunter especially seemed to be dying of boredom:

But finally Shannon and the kids arrived and Hunter was the one to make the grand announcement,

I must say his mood took a turn for the better! It was a great night and Abby was so thrilled. I can't believe how big all of my nieces and nephews are getting! I love all 21 1/2 of them! My favorite picture of the night though was the expression on Abby's face I snapped while the two of us were talking about the care of the new baby alive she received. She strapped it in a backpack and slung it on her back and it mad a little crying sound and I told her that she would have to be very careful with her new baby,

It was late and she was tired, and I don't think that she anticipated how hard the care of a new baby doll was going to be. She will be a good mom I think! I was informed that her baby's name is Suzy.
With the happy comes the sad and late the next night I got word that my friend Dawn that I met up with on Saturday had been killed in a car accident. Sad times! It is always so hard for me to remember that things happen for a reason. She was a good person and such a great friend and she will be deeply missed by a lot of people! I was grateful for the time that I was able to spend with her. I am also so grateful for the caring and understanding friends that I have, they make the whole journey of life so much more livable! I was also so fortunate to catch the Sunday conference, I was working Saturday but I am excited to read it when it comes out. I am so grateful for a wonderful prophet and for his counselors and the church as a whole organization. I am glad that I can gain so much strength from the things that I learn about and that my testimony of the Saviour is broadened and I feel so much peace in my life. It is Wednesday now and I am hoping that there is nothing too exciting or overwhelming that is going to happen until Sunday's post. The rain is coming and that is a good sign. I will close with a picture of Athens I shot last week when we were all shocked to open the blinds and find 6" of snow:

Apparently she doesn't share my love of the snow!

March 15 - 21 Favorites!

2009-03-22T12:50:00.000-07:00

This past week was a great week! The greenhouses are starting to come into color and things are really picking up (we are super busy!). Here are a few shots I got in the greenhouses:

These are my favorite! They are called Blue Denim Violas. They smell like honey!

On Tuesday I moved my living rocks outside to be in the greenhouse. They are now a year old and are starting to molt. The outside splits and in the center, a new growth forms.

I know that they look small for being a year but to me they are huge. The seeds that I planted them from were almost invisible to the naked eye! I just love them! I hope to some day produce enough to sell them on a large scale but so far they aren't turning out to be a cash crop because of their snail speed. I think that I will get some more started next month.
We are all getting along very well with our little work dog Clementine that adopted us! She is so sweet!....or should I say HE!! When we first found the dog it was in a bad state with mangy hair and weeds stuck all over in it, after several bathes and shaves by Nick she was looking so much better! I had her out back for lunch with me sharing a taco when I snapped a few photo's to post today and I noticed....not that I was looking.... but I just noticed that maybe we were wrong in our female assumption. After taking another look we have discovered that she is now a he but Clementine is still going to be his name (I just call him Clem for short). He is such a good dog!!

Last but not least was the marriage of my friends Rebecca and Nathan! It was a beautiful wedding. It was fun to go to the Temple and see them sealed for time and all eternity! I love them both and wish the very best for them. They had a beautiful wedding and I spent the entire day with them. I have decided however, that the next time I have to dress up nice in a dress and heels all day, I am going to be the bride....that is seriously a long day and it is not one that I want to repeat any time soon! Congrats you two!!

(oh, and if you want my candid shots, like this one....it's gonna cost ya!! :) j/k)

Fav's of the Week That Was

2009-03-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

I am not going to lie when I say that this past week was not my favorite by any means. I am glad that there was enough good in it however to out weigh the bad! Tuesday, all of us at work were minding our own business when we were suddenly adopted by a mangy looking dog that wouldn't leave our sides.

She looks like a mix between a Old English Sheep dog and a Border Collie. She hung out with us in the greenhouse for the afternoon and since I figured she might be staying around, I named her Fran and fed her some pizza. She instantly got attached to all of us but we knew that we would have to make other arrangements for her. At the end of the day the humane society sounded like her best option but it was closed. I called around to try and find an owner that may have lost her but with the state she was in, it was no surprise to me that no one claimed responsibility for her. She is the greatest dog ever and thanks to Viki and Greg who lent her a room for the night, we were able to find her a permanent home. She now spends her days at the greenhouse with all of us and her nights and lunch hour with Nick, an employee. He was wanting a dog and so she came around at the exact perfect time and we are all very happy. Since she is Nick's her name has been changed to Clementine, and she is just darling!

Thursday was a great day! It was our monthly Carol Appreciation Day!! Marianne and I, and usually a guest, get together as cousins and have lunch in memory of her sister, my best friend and cousin, Carol. She's not dead, she just lives far away. This months CAD happen to fall on Carol's daughter Kalele's birthday. I can't believe that she is one already! She has gone from this:

to this:

She is the sweetest little girl ever and I miss them both, and Jason! I am excited to go visit them again sometime in Pennsylvania!
Friday the 13th was spent at a spooky movie, The Uninvited. I think that Tom and I did more laughing at it then jumping though. Ahhh... the teenage movies. It did have a great twist at the end though, you will never see it coming!
I forgot to mention that last Sunday was so great too, I went to Blackfoot to visit my sister Megan and her two kids Hunter and Abby.

We had a great time playing games! I love those two little monkeys but I am still seriously considering turning Megan and John into Supernanny because they ARE a handful! :)
So all in all it wasn't such an awful week. I am grateful for the people who helped make it as great as it was. Oh and one last thing, I finally figured out why I always have so much cat hair on my gym sweats...

....thanks for that Shanty!!

Favorites of the Week

2009-03-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Keeping busy at the greenhouse makes it more of a challenge to find a lot of favorites but here are a few that I came up with:
First, my new cd!

Madeleine Peyroux, if you haven't heard her music I highly recommend it. It is jazzy and blues and I don't know, maybe a little rock a billy? Her voice is all her own and for being French I am surprised that she has such a sound. Saturday was the first day that I got to really listen to the whole cd. I turned it on while I was baking and cleaning and I started having flashbacks of summers spent with my Grandma Welker in her kitchen baking with the am radio station playing in the background. My next favorite thing of the week is the return of the snow!! I love snow! I never complain about it ever! I can't stand the period between winter and spring when the grass is brown and dormant and all the trash from the winter is showing up all over town, I think that it is great to have the snow as a blanket to cover up all the ugliness!

Last, but my very favorite was spending time with great friends and having great conversation. Friday night I got together with Viki and her husband Greg, and Tom for good chats and a great movie. I am so glad that President and Sister Groberg decided to have so many kids, otherwise I would have missed out on two great friendships! It is wonderful to have friends and I am so honored to have the friends that I have! I miss Jemela now that she is in Utah but it is also great spending the wee hours in the morning chatting with her and solving all of the worlds problems together. :) I am truly blessed!

Favorite Things of the Week

2009-03-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

Last week was full of great friends and great fun! Saturday was the greatest day of all! Rebecca had her bridal shower and the theme was an Alice in Wonderland tea party and surprisingly enough, even though Alice in Wonderland is my very favorite book, I had nothing to do with the planning or execution of the shower. It was great to see everyone in unique hats and the table spread was amazing!! Here is what it looked like:

While bridal showers still aren't my thing, I really loved this one because there were NO games! I just can't handle them! Especially the bride's dress out of toilet paper game. Gag me with a spoon!
Saturday afternoon was so great too because Clayton and his wife Amy and Sam and Henry came for a visit at the greenhouse! I love that it has been years since I have seen Clayton and we can pick up just right where we left off! That is the sign of a true friend! His wife and son are so great too, not to mention his brother Henry!! I just loved the visit and I am kicking myself for not taking a picture to post. Oh well, next time.

Happy 63rd Birthday Alan

2009-02-22T15:40:00.000-08:00

63 and as handsome as ever!

The Greenhouses

2009-02-22T15:34:00.000-08:00

It is the end of Feb. and we now have 2 greenhouses full of plants, this week we will have three. Here is how they are shaping up:

Favorite Things of the Week

2009-02-22T15:13:00.001-08:00

Athens found a new hiding place, under the sink in the bathroom on top of my clean towels, it's okay though they wash and it made me laugh to see how happy she was, like a regular queen on her throne!

I found these two patches on towels that we were using as rags at the store. I cut them off and I am still trying to decide what to use them as. My friend Chalise thinks patches, I think that I am going to stich them to a shirt that says "eat your vegetables...they are yummy" in blue velvet lettering. We'll see.

Rebecca and I stopped to get gas and this sticker was on a warning sign next to the pump. It is a warning to anti-static yourself when you get out of the car. I still don't know how to do that and the picture isn't good help either. It was, however, a great laugh!

Foggy Idaho mornings. They remind me of January in India.

Drives up to Victor with my sister Shannon to see my brother James, his wife Audra, and Adam, Rebekah, Cameron, and Devin and those big bouncy red balls!!

My Favorite Things of Last Week

2009-02-16T16:42:00.000-08:00

Because I had a lot of time to sit around my house while I have been packaging seeds, I found quite a few things that I really liked...I knew from the get go that there was no way that I would only be able to pick just one favorite thing in a week. First off is Adele.

She is a British singer that I just love. Her CD 19 is so great! Right as Rain is my favorite song because of the line: "We won't be making up, I cried my heart out, and now I've had enough of love"...it just doesn't sound good written down but when you hear it I hope you understand what I am talking about! I love her music!
The next favorite thing was when I went down to Shelley and taught my parents a little bit about technology and how to use their new Crazer phones....very entertaining! This panorama picture caught a lot of their frustrations:

The yellow bowl of yellow fruit was so cheery so it made my favorite things list. They are lemons and grapefruit from Rebecca's siblings. They picked them while they were in Nevada or Arizona and I got to share in the wealth. Fresh fruit is so delicious!

The last two favorites I enjoyed the very most. Athens has for some reason developed a whisker above her eye that is so long and stiff and black. It runs into everything. I think that I should trim it, especially because when she goes to rub against my leg it is the first thing that I feel. It is just so funny looking that it makes me laugh....I don't laugh at her however, I don't want to hurt her precious cat feelings. I don't know if this photo really shows it but it's there just look close:

And last but not least, my favorite thing was my Sunday nap with Shanty sleeping on my lap!

Up to My Eyeballs in Peas

2009-02-16T16:37:00.001-08:00

The last two weeks I have had a hard time trying to stay caught up on the blog and check Facebook and work and watch my favorite Telemundo shows and try to get enough sleep and look some what decent in the morning because I have been packaging pea seeds for a little canning project my boss is doing on the side. We are canning only non-hybrid seeds so that you can plant them and store them the following year and be guaranteed that you will get the same stuff year after year because they haven't been genetically altered. It isn't a bad side job but keep in mind I do live in a studio apartment and so one sack of 50 lbs. of seeds takes up a lot of space...I did 2000 pounds! I was glad to get it done and they were all shipped out today!!

The Birthday's

2009-02-16T16:28:00.000-08:00

Last Monday was Nate's birthday and yesterday was Rebecca's. How great that they are getting married and their birthday's are so close....like it was ment to be or something gross and mushy like that.

Rebecca sent in her request of a red velvet two layered cake with cream cheese frosting and it turned out VERY tasty and I in turn gave myself a pat on the back :)

Favorite Thing of the Week

2009-02-04T09:16:00.000-08:00

Until the plants in the greenhouse are big enough to start back up my "Plant of the Week" posts, I have decided to post about something that I have found during the week that is new and amazing...to me at least. This week I chose this German Lurch brand silicone bundt pan. It is so great and the shape of it is wonderful not to mention the fact that it is bendable because it is silicone!! There are all sorts of things that you can do with it other than baking cakes. You can also fill it up with grape juice and fresh fruit and freeze it or use it as a jello mold, just really whatever creative thing that you can think of!! They are so great though!

Happy 7th Birthday!!

2009-02-02T07:33:00.001-08:00

According to the papers I received when I adopted Shanty, today is his 7th birthday!! Well his 45th year in human terms (Who would have thought it, me living with an older male...shameful!) Well no matter how you calculate it today is a great day to be Shanty! We are celebrating today with chicken cat treats, a new collar, and some fresh catnip! Here is how handsome my little silver fox has gotten:

The Sundance Film Festival

2009-01-26T12:03:00.000-08:00

Sundance was so great last Saturday. It was a blizzard going down but we made it despite the weather, Tommy is a very great driver! We met up with Ken, Emily, Jemela, Kyle, and his friend Monica in Salt Lake. The weather wasn't any better in Park City but my spirits weren't dampened by heavy rain or snow! We ran into Chalise and her sister and my cousin Adrian met up with us later. The only famous people we ran into was Benjamin Bratt and the Mac computer guy. I was really hoping that Liam Neeson was going to be around but no such luck. Adrian ran into Uma Thurman and Minnie Driver and a couple of other people earlier that week and the two of us are for sure planning on making the weekend out of it next week. I love Park City! I think that it is a great place, not quite like Jackson but there is something for sure that I love about it! All in all it was a fun trip, and we even made it back in time so that Emily and I could give our talks in Sacrament Meeting!
Here are a few shots, I am sad I didn't get any group ones but I am sure that they will show up later.

Selecting a Hat for Sundance

2009-01-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

The last day of the Sundance Film Festival is tomorrow and I wouldn't miss it for the world! I am so excited about going. Last night I tried to select just the perfect hat to wear and I was actually surprised to find out not only that I own a lot of different head wear, but also how funny it is to use a hat to change your identity! Here are the results:
First I tried the old trusty ball cap. I think that it might be a little to shady and stockerish for Sundance though.

The Rasta look was next but because there might be some interesting people at Sundance I don't want to give them the impression that I have any "goods" to offer.

The Aunt Jemima look worked really well...for Aunt Jemima.

Just a single headband for the chilly Park City air?

How about this red and blue beauty knitted for me by my grandma years ago to cover up the worse perm of my life!

This one might attract too much attention. I can't have people thinking that I am a star Olympic athlete :)

A little too Aretha Franklin meets Obama Inauguration maybe?

One of my every day standard looks from India. Namaste, I don't think it will work for Sundance though

One of my personal favorites, a little more for sledding though

Not being able to decide on which one is best suitable for Sundance, I let Shanty decide on his favorite

Alright! The red and blue one it is! Good choice Shanty!

The Nativity

2009-01-23T08:48:00.000-08:00

I know that this post is a little late but I have been meaning to show off the latest nativity set that I received for Christmas. It is a tradition that we get a new set every Christmas and every year they are my favorite! This one is no exception! It is my favorite. I decided to leave it up all year so that I can enjoy it longer. It is a Celtic Nativity and it came complete with the story of St. Francis and his role in keeping the symbol of the nativity alive. It is great. Just 6 little stone pieces make up the set.

My Own Mini Library

2009-01-23T08:21:00.000-08:00

Having a living space of about 25 ft by 15 ft poses some VERY challenging living space issues, the main issue, where to build my own library. I am happy to say that after years and years of living in my little studio I have finally made a little cozy nook that is just perfect as a library, crocheting corner, or even just a nice spot to kick the feet up for a nap!

Bingo for Life!

2009-01-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

Last night was our muli-Branch activity night. We had a huge game of Bingo. I love games! Bingo is NO exception. The greatest part was that in playing the game of Bingo, I won another game...Life! It has been awhile since I have played Life but I am really excited to rip into it! I am glad that I have a lot of friends and family that like to play games (except Emily!).

Blooms and Seeds

2009-01-21T10:09:00.001-08:00

In my October 31st post I shot some random photos of all the newly planted bulbs, well finally they have unravelled to show off their pretty blooms. So here they are 12 weeks later:
Hyacinths:

Amaryllis:

And remember those little herbs that I planted? Look at them now!

Today also marked the first day of what I consider to be spring, the first day of planting. I sowed all of the dahlias that will be used for Mothers Day this year.

Just 3 tray's worth which might not look like much but there are 512 plants per tray. They should be ready for transplanting in about 4 weeks. We also received our first shipment of pre-planted plugs. These are Gerbera Daisies.

There are 144 plugs per tray so these plugs are a lot bigger than the dahlias will be. I just love this time of the year. Next week planting really gets busy. We will have a greenhouse just about full by next Friday!

Ahhh Jackson!

2009-01-19T08:13:00.000-08:00

It is no big secret that Jackson Hole is one of my favorite places in the western United States! It is the most wonderful place to be in the winter especially!! The snow is fabulous! On Saturday, Ken, Emily, Tommy and I set out on the slopes to do some serious sledding!! The hills where prefectly groomed and super speedy. There was a wonderful Peruvian boy at the top of the hill making sure that we got to the bottom of the hill as fast as possible. After our hour was done we hit the shops and the Sidewinder for dinner. What a great day. Next weeks adventure in Park City might have a hard time rivaling Jackson, but we'll see.

De-Cluttering!

2009-01-10T15:52:00.000-08:00

I am not the type of person that likes a lot of clutter so naturally I was alarmed this week to find that it is getting harder and harder to stuff my keys into my pocket, why?, well take a look at the old key chain:

So....the first thing to go is the mace:

Although very handy, I am sure that the purse might be a safer place for it! Next off the key chain, the pocket knife:

I think that removing this one is going to settle the library workers down a little bit, they seem to get shifty eyed when I hand them my library card that is next to my pocket knife that is hanging from my keys. As much as I love India, I have two key chains that I was given while I was there and one of them had to go, so this one is next off the key chain:

I hope none of my Indian friends are offended. I also love New York City but this one has to come off too:

The two most recent key chains that I have received are these two:

The little Russian nesting girl was a gift from Rebecca and came from Moldova and the awesome whistle/thermometer/compass was a gift from my sister because she knows how crazy I am about knowing where north is at all times, I found a happy spot for these two in the Subaru. This one on the other hand.....well I don't even want to talk about what I am going to do with it....my gym membership:

Knocking off the keys to Jemela's old place and the garage where my bike is stored and the mail key:

this is what I am left with:

All the essentials! The two keys to Ian, my house key and the key to the parents, work key, a reminder from my dad that he loves me and a key chain from India. I wonder how long it will take for things to pile up again!

Shanty Sends His Love!

2009-01-06T07:57:00.001-08:00

It's shocking how much fun you can have with a camera and a bag of ret hot lips!

Trevin's 10th Birthday!

2009-01-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to the New Years Baby! Trevin turned 10 on Jan. 1st. He has grown up so fast and is such a great nephew! We had a great birthday party with a million other screaming kids at Leo's. Happy Birthday Trevin!!