Santa Must Be Close

Last night I was driving down the hill and a deer ran right in front of me. I slammed on my brakes (good thing I wasn't driving very fast) and then two more deer ran in front of me. Might have been dasher, dancer, and comet, or donner,vixen, and blitzen. But it wasn't Rudolph. This I know because I looked for the red nose. I rolled down the window and yelled I've been good. You know just in case they were spying for Santa. And to ensure they would send a good report I reminded them that I was the one that had the delicious roses they enjoyed all summer. Hope it works.

Are These Cookies Moldy?

My darling Don asked me if I would make him some oatmeal raisin cookies. Which I told him I would. Now I like raisins, oatmeal, and cookies...just not all together. But I am more than happy to make them for him. I got on line to find a recipe and I found this picture of oatmeal raisin cookies. Is it just me or do these look like moldy cookies? Not very appetizing looking if you ask
me. I think I will keep looking for a recipe. I need to find one quick as Don and I are going to spend the evening tomorrow night cooking up holiday treats. I am so looking forward to it and I do hope my cookies don't look moldy. Growing up my mom had a friend that brought cookies that had oatmeal, raisins, and chocolate chips in them. They were delicious. Yeah it shocked me too. My mom made them several times after that but has since lost the recipe. I asked the friend if she still had it but she said she hadn't made them for so long she forgot what the recipe was and didn't think she had it any more. Oh well, I bet I thought they were so good because my mom is a really good cook and she makes everything taste good.

I Wish I Recovered As Fast

This morning I went with Marykate to Reagan's 6 month check. Reagan did so well. The Dr said she is doing what 9 month olds do. She is a smart little girl. She then had to have her immunizations and a flu shot. She did well with them but you could tell she didn't feel all that well afterward. She spent the afternoon with me. We rocked most of the afternoon. She just cuddled right up and rocked. Then about 3:30 she started to jabber and smile. She got down on the floor and played and played. You would have never known she didn't feel all that great earlier. Wish I could recover that fast. I felt bad she didn't feel good but this grandma sure did enjoy the rocking.

60 Years Putting Your Hat On and Go To The Barn

My parents just celebrated 60 years of marriage. It is just incredible. They are a great example of love and commitment. The bishop of their ward (church) recently asked them to attend a marriage class. When I heard, I about fell over laughing. I thought if they haven't figured it out after 60 years, what hope do the rest of us have. What a treat it must be to be the class with them. They have a lot of insight. I am sure the other members of the class have learned a lot from them. My parents say the key is to know when to put your hat on and go to the barn. Of course it helps to have a nice barn to go to.

Don and I went to see them and horned in on the celebrating. We had a fun time. We hired a limousine and went to dinner and then toured the town looking at the lights. We had a great time.

Connie, Dad (Ralph), Mom (Wavie) in limo

Connie with her parents (Ralph & Wavie)

We Graduated Move over Dancing with the Stars

We graduated!! Don and I have been taking beginning ballroom dance lessons. We finished this week. We can foxtrot, swing, and waltz. Ballroom II starts in January. I am so hoping it will be on a day we can go. We started on a Monday and the teacher asked if we could move to the Wednesday class. No we weren't so bad she moved us. We were the only ones signed up for the Monday class. Anyway, with my new church calling I can no longer go on Wednesdays. Dancing with my darling Don has been such a treat and I must say we aren't too bad. You can even tell what dance we are doing. There are some local dances so we are going to try and go so we can keep practiced up. Dancing with the Stars have nothing on us. (maybe we better keep that our secret)

Conversation with Ben

The other night I was chatting with my 5 year old grandson Benjamin. It was about 6:30. pm Here is the conversation.

Ben: Grandma I want to read some articles to you
Me: Great (I thought he had some newspaper articles.)
Silence
Ben: Me and mom want to read them
Mommy: Go ahead and I will help you if you get stuck
Then Ben proceeded to read the Articles of Faith. After reading the second one he softly said "I already knew that one because I memoryized it". Then he continued to the third one after which he said: Grandma I'm done I can't read any more because there are 13 of them and I go to bed at 7:30.

I laughed because I could relate on so many levels. I can't wait to say it. Well I am going to now. I can't blog anymore because I go to bed at 10:00. (I'm not mentioning it is only 5:55 pm)

Thanksgiving--I am grateful

I can't believe Thanksgiving is over. My goodness time is flying by. But I must say it was a good one. My mom and dad came for a visit. They had to play for their supper. The day after Thanksgiving my mom, dad, and son Brent shared their talents. They played music for the residents of the retirement home that Don's folks live. They did a marvelous job and the residents loved it. As I sat there listening to the familiar tunes, I thought how thankful I was to have such a great family. I have a husband that I adore, special kids whom I am so proud of (this includes their spouses), cutest and smartest grandkids on earth and sweet wonderful parents and wonderful siblings (most of them), and the best nieces and nephews (most of them). I know it sounds sappy but I am really thankful (for all of them).

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Sacramento Dating

Old!?!?! Ppffsss

I had the opportunity to hear one of my most favorite bands perform on Thursday night. Yes Bank the Band played at the Bouquet. I must say it was very enjoyable to watch them. I believe it was one of their best. As I arrived, I asked the person at the door if Bank had played yet as there were a couple of bands playing to which he said they had not. "Oh good I said, then I will stay" He told me he needed the $2.00 cover charge and my ID. Now the Bouquet serves alcohol so they have to be careful not to let minors in. I smiled and asked him if he was serious. He was! Proudly I pulled out my ID. I told him I had 40 in the rear view mirror and was staring at 50. He laughed that yeah right laugh. He looked at my ID and then smiled the embarrassed smile. I told him he was my new best friend. I tell you it is my gray hair.......it makes me look so youthful. It costs a fortune but it is worth every penny..... O.K. it doesn't cost a thing but it is still worth it. I ordered my diet coke (with unlimited refills) and sat waiting for Bank to play. Looking around at the younger set there, I thought, old? ppffsss. I still get carded, woohoo. I didn't much care for the band that performed before Bank but when Bank took the stage.................WATCH OUT. I think the drummer is way good.

Hawiya Hawiya Hawiya

My mom once said if she ever went to Hawaii she would get off the plane and say "Hawiya Hawiya Hawiya". So that is what I did. We took our annual vacation trip with our best friends Dan and Shawna. We went to Hawaii this year. It rained really hard the first few days. The news reported it as a record. They received twice as much rain in one day then they normally do for the entire month. Lucky us huh? It dumped rain like I have never seen. It rained off and on all week. But we didn't let it deter us. We visited the Arizona Memorial (my personal favorite), the Missouri battleship (Mighty Mo), snorkeled, visited the Dole plantation, gonged the bell at the Chinese Buddha Temple, visited the Punchbowl cemetery, went to the Polynesian Culture Center, went on a harbor dinner cruise, visited Dog the Bounty Hunters office, paid an enormous amount for dinner that we had to cook ourselves. And more that I am not mentioning. Because of the rain, we only saw two sunsets but they were beautiful. The hotel we stayed at had 15 floors (that included the penthouse) and only one working elevator. We were on the 8th floor so we enjoyed the wait for the elevator. The worst part of the trip was the time zone difference. When it was 8:00 p.m. there it was 12:00 am at home. All in all we had a really fun time. Next year back to Cancun. Yeah that is what I am talking about.

This was one of the sunsets. This was taken while on the harbor dinner cruise

This was the view from our lanai (balcony)

Us at the Polynesian Cultural Center Show

Shawna, Dan, Connie, and Don at the Japanese steak house
(yes the handsome guy on the right is MINE!)

Two Cars in the Garage

We now have two cars in the garage. WOOOHOOO! Don worked really hard and got his car back in the garage. Just don't look in the shed or the shop. Now that it is colder in the mornings, it will be nice for Don to have his car in the garage.......scraping windows is not what it is cracked up to be. Way to go Don!

It Came

Well my new vacuum arrived. The funny part is when Don took it out of the box......it was the wrong vacuum. Yea can you even believe it? What a pain this vacuum thing has been. I decided to end it. I said if it sucks good, I am keeping. It did a fabulous job vacuuming it. As it turns out, it is a upgraded model of the one I ordered.

Dr Doolittle

I felt a little like Dr Doolittle this weekend. Don and I went to Cascade for the weekend. I woke up Saturday morning hearing two men taking. It sounded like they were right outside the bedroom window. I thought it was a little odd, so I got up a peeked out the window. Right outside the window were two deer. Imagine my surprise. I couldn't see anyone else. Not sure where the men were that were doing the talking but for all appearances.......it was the deer. And for those thinking it NO I wasn't walking in my sleep or dreaming it and YES I was fully awake.

Can't Beat A Good Bargin

Surprise I got a new pair of shoes. Check these out. I got these $80.00 shoes for $12.00. My skeetchers are a little worn so I have had my good eye out for a bargain and here it is. For the price I could hardly pass it up. My friend Maryanne and I have lunch every Thursday and after lunch we decided to go shopping. She told me she liked shoes and we all know how much I love shoes so to the show store we went. Now I am not one to pass up a good bargain on shoes. And like Don always says "A woman can never have to many shoes or jewelry" oh wait that is what I always say.

Gold Stars

I love getting a gold star. As ya all know the memory card for my guitar hero died....sorta. Well I had to start all over and I have been able to play several songs with no errors. Yes that is correct I got 100%. And I'll be darned but the stars are all in gold. Wish all the songs star were in gold. I guess that is my new goal.

Sad note.....I am still without a new vacuum. It is now on back order. So I guess the saga continues. Sorry guys. :)

Changes are in the Air Vaccum anyone?

What a week. It all started last Saturday. The auction had paintings and I had my eye on one. It matched my new bedding perfecting. So I went and once the bidding on the other paintings started I knew I didn't have a chance. No I didn't get it BUT I was able to score a set of 3 pictures for my dining room. They are of apples, a peaches, and pomegranates. They are cool. Sorry I can't get the glare off.



Then the best news.....I got a new vacuum. Yes it's true. For the past 6 months I have been complaining that I needed a new vacuum. I have been shopping for and researching for the past 6 months. It really has been an ordeal. And to all that have gone through the vacuum trials with me, you will be pleased to know they are over. I got an Electralux. Or I will next week. I had to order it. Don is thrilled. He doesn't have to listen to me complain about it any more. It was a little more than what I wanted to pay but Don reminded me that my mother said "You just can't do without a good vacuum". And she is so right. So I bit the bullet and got it.

Then we got the carpets cleaned. Don said it would be a good time to rearrange the furniture. I about fell over. He detests rearranging the furniture. But I took advantage and rearrange we did. It looks better but of coarse we realized we needed a new sofa table so we went and got one. Oh all these changes...........

Don was home on vacation all week. He wanted to get the garage cleaned out enough to get his car in .....well both cars are out now. Maybe by Sunday night. We went on a local ART (auction road trip) today. It was cold and rainy but we got some great stuff. It has been fun having him home. It will be lonely next week.

Bitter Sweet Day

Let me just say I am the luckiest grandma. I just adore each one of my grandkids. I have a special relationship with each one. They each make me laugh. I am surprised anyone of them still have their little finger as they have me wrapped so tight around them. Today was sweet because I got to spend time with Reagan. She is growing and changing so fast. It is just fun to watch her learn and discover. But it was bitter as I thought about one of my other sweet granddaughters. Little Bergann is a mini me. She is everything I was at her age. She loves everything I loved. She loves fashion (which includes shoes) and jewelry, dolls, dress up, have her nails done. I look at her play and I can see me when I was her age. Well she was invited to a birthday party for a girl in her class. And get this, it was at a beauty salon. The salon conducts parties. They do the girls hair and give them a manicure and pedicure. How cool is that! Now this is right up Bergann's alley. She was thrilled. I was thrilled for her. I was so excited you would have thought I was the one going. I could hardly wait for today to come and hear all about it. I just knew how she felt to be able to go. But unfortunately she couldn't go because she got pink eye. Ben got it first and then Isabella and today....Bergann. Dang.....why couldn't it have come tomorrow or the next day or not at all. I was so disappointed and heart broke for her. Hopefully an opportunity will come again. Her mommy played beauty shop at home with her and she loved it. So that was sweet.

What a Difference An Hour Makes

What a difference an hour makes. It has been said if you don't like the weather in Idaho hang on an hour and it will change. Here is proof. My PC (prince charming) and I went to Cascade to finish staining the deck and front porch. When we got up Saturday morning we got up to snow. Yikes. But by noon it had all melted away. While waiting for the weather to cooperate I canned tomatoes. I only canned 9 pints. Then we went to Tamarack. Wow is it ever nice. It is booming and will give Sun Valley a run for it's money. (literally). Then by 6:30 p.m. we had the staining done. Whew. What a busy weekend.........fun but busy. Oh and I also found time to play 2 guitar hero songs in hard mode. Yes I am just a strummin fool.

Here is what we woke up to.... Now you see it

Now you don't...snows gone

here are my yummy tomatoes (from my garden)

Here is a picture of the mask worn with the CPAP machine. Cute huh???

If It Goes Bump In The Night

If it goes bump in the night and I am at your house, it may just well be me. I have had trouble all my life walking and talking in my sleep. I even started screaming and laughing. For a time I would jump and kick but thanks to acupuncture I stopped. (Don is most grateful). One night about 3:00 a.m. I woke Don up and asked him if he knew where Miami was. Of course he did. Then laughing I said huh, I didn't even know I had an ami. Traveling worried me a little so I have been ever so careful and slept very lightly. But I have had laughing episodes while traveling. Well at home I got so bad that Don asked me to get some help...he needed a good nights rest. Sooooo I went for a sleep study. I spent the night at a local hotel. It was a very nice hotel. I was hooked to all kinds of electrodes and they filmed me as I slept. I had a slight episode where I screamed so loud, I woke up other patrons. Overall the sleep study went well. I had 15 episodes per hour. Which is considered moderate. As it turns out my throat is so small that when I relax and go to sleep my throat closes. This doesn't make much sense to me but that is my diagnosis. The cure? I get to use a CPAP machine at night. Words can't express how thrilled I am. Maybe I can't find the words because I am not thrilled. But I will have an open mind as I try it. I get it on Monday and the new adventure will begin. Stay tuned as I am sure it will be an adventure to report on. All I can say is I love Don......otherwise I would never have taken it this far. My hope is that in a month I will be able to say how thrilled I am with the results. Stay tuned.....

My Teacher My Friend

There are those of us who are fortunate enough to have someone enter our life and have a profound effect on us. I had that someone. My school years were not pleasant ones for me. I wasn't a genius child or even smart in fact, I struggled to be average. I didn't start out well. I had the same teacher in kindergarten and first grade. She was an elderly high strung woman. She didn't like me because I was left handed. She delighted in being mean and would regularly beat my hands with the ruler. She was determined to make me right handed......she succeeded. I share this because when I got to Jr High there was a teacher that had the reputation of being mean and tough. You did NOT mess with Mrs. Mickelson. She taught Freshman English. The summer before my freshman year, I realized I could get her for English. The very thought plagued me and would make me physically ill. All I could think of is my kindergarten and 1st grade experience. I was terrified I would have to relive that experience. I prayed harder than I had ever prayed in my life not to get her. You can only imagine my horror when I got my schedule and saw her name on my slip. As it turned out, she was the best teacher I had in all my school career. I couldn't wait to get to class. I had great love and respect for Mrs. Mickelson. To this day I can remember and relate things she taught. As luck would have it, several years later I went to church and who was there? Mrs. Mickelson. She had moved here to be near her daughter. Even better luck.... I was assigned to be her visiting teacher. In no time at all Mrs Mickelson became my friend Zora. We would talk on the phone and have lunch, I would take her to Dr appts, we belonged to DUP (daughters of the Utah pioneers) together. She would tell me stories of when she was young (they were very entertaining). We had a lot of fun. We even laughed together about how scared I was of her when I first met her. There are so many funny stories and experiences that I could tell about her. She was a wonderful teacher that turned into a wonderful friend. My friend Zora passed away last week. She is now gone but she taught me so much and had such a profound impact on my life that she will forever be in my heart. Thanks Mrs. Mickelson for taking me under your wing and teaching me so much and making each day in class a positive experience and thank you Zora for being such a sweet friend.....not to mention entertaining.

Flies and Tattoos

I am keeping a close eye on our goodies. Had trouble keeping folks out of our stuff. You can't believe how many try and steal your stuff.


Don scored big on an item...... Wooohooo

Don checking to make sure his stuff was still in the box.


Well my prince and I went on an ART (auction road trip) this past weekend. We attended two of Masters auctions. The boys did a great job. We didn't get a lot but we didn't come home empty handed either. I decided the weekend was all about flies and tattoos. I am not kidding. Every other person I saw had a tattoo. I thought for a minute I was at the wrong place. It looked like a tattoo convention and not an auction. Good thing there were auctioneers to keep me straight. And we couldn't go anywhere without a gazillion flies. Even at the restaurants. You could see dead flies in the window seal and more buzzing around them. Don said the ones buzzing around had come for the dead ones funeral. I guess I should have looked to see if the flies were tattooed as well. Jackpot was fun and I kept my record of receiving money from strangers to gamble with. Not sure how it works but it I like it.


I started the week off at the Dentist. I went in this morning to get started on my new crowns. Before the dentist got started he took out a really nice digital camera and took pictures of my teeth. When I got through, I looked all over the lobby for my 8x10 glossy but I just couldn't find it. Oh well, I didn't see a buffet line either. At least there were no flies.

Trip to the Dentist

Well believe it or not I have finally got set up to blog. (thanks Chanel :)) Not certain how often I will post as my life isn’t all the exciting but I am going to give it a whirl.

You know if it isn’t one thing it is another with me. I went to the Dentist for my routine 6 month check. My dentist has been watching some of my teeth. (No they aren’t entertainers or anything like that) One that wasn’t even on the eye watch list started to bother me a year ago and after x-rays and checks the dentist couldn’t find anything wrong. Well while at my recent check, he discovered that tooth had a big crack. Gads! And if that wasn’t enough the tooth behind it felt bad and decided to kick the filling loose. Now my bites bad so I am getting 2 new crowns. If ya’ll remember the last time I had 2 crowns. I was “blessed”. I was only supposed to have one but the dentist did the wrong tooth so I ended up with 2. It worked in my favor though and…….. I got a free massage out of it. Hope my new bite is a good one.

I am headed for an art trip the PC (prince charming) so stay tuned for pictures and an update.