Saturday, January 31, 2009

Family Picture


Before Jared left on his mission we were able to get a great family picture taken. Derek Smith, who was in our Ward, and was also the photography teacher for Jordan and Sarah took the pictures up Settlement Canyon. We were so grateful to have him take the pictures because he and his family were in the process of moving to St. George. We finally decided on a picture and had it enlarged. We thought we were getting a 16x20 and ended up with a 24x36. We liked the size so much for the room, we just went and bought a larger frame. Next time we have a family portrait taken, we will have to go to St. George.

The Quilt Rack




For Christmas I made Sherrie a quilt rack to display her creations. I designed it to have a shabby chic, rustic look and painted it with real white milk paint that I mixed up myself. Yes, it is made with milk. And, no, it doesn't smell like sour milk. (I still need to paint the rod - I was in a hurry to get it up on the wall.) Sherrie has designed beautiful quilts for the holidays and seasons and I think that they needed a beautiful display mechanism.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Price - Another Great Utah Town

Yesterday I continued my tour of Utah towns that you are glad you don't live in. Well, as it turned out, I had already visited this particular town several years back. I had a training class in Price, Utah (no offense to anyone who finds Price an inviting community as apparently there are college students who chose to attend Eastern) yesterday. It was put on by the Rural Water Association of Utah so I guess the name says it all. They offer the training in rural towns (we have a rural water system at the plant). As I drove into town I remembered that coming back from Sherrie's grandmother's funeral we had stopped and spent the night in Price. Fortunately the weather was accommodating and drive over Soldier Summit was not bad except for a bit of snow blowing across the road near the summit. I ate lunch at a local chinese restaurant which proved to be a bad choice. I still have an upset stomach almost 24 hours later. The training was interesting. The drive home was really long. I opted to go through Lehi and take the back route to Tooele since they were describing traffic delays through SLC. As it turned out, the delay getting from I-15 to Eagle Mountain was probably worse than what I would have encountered in SLC. I don't know how the people who live west of Lehi put up with that traffic every day. With a little excess speed I was home in time to watch American Idol. That show is our family time (like the Wonderful World of Disney used to be on Sunday nights when I was young). Although instead of gathering around the TV to watch a cut mountain lion cub save a young boy lost in the woods, we critique the singers and judges (so it it much more interactive). We do have a good time together. I basically lounged on the couch for the whole program. I am still trying to get over this nasty flu that I have. My head cleared up for a while yesterday so I thought I was nearing the end. Then is came back with a vengeance last night. I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning and I still feel really lousy. I am beginning to think that this will be yet another weekend where I accomplish nothing.

Rock On Jordan





Jordan, as you can see from the pictures, is enjoying SUU. It is my understanding that he is also doing well in his classes.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE

I received this funny email and thought it would be fun to post on the blog.

We had to have the garage door repaired. The Sears repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a 'large' enough motor on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one Sears made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head and said, 'Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower.' I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4. He said, 'NO, it's not.' Four is larger than two..'

We haven't used Sears repair since.


My daughter and I went through the McDonald's take-out window and I gave the clerk a $5 bill. Our total was $4.25, so I also handed her a quarter. She said, 'you gave me too much money.' I said, 'Yes I know, but this way you can just give me a dollar bill back.' She sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request. I did so, and he handed me back the quarter, and said 'We're sorry but they could not do that kind of thing.' The clerk then proceeded to give me back $1 and
75 cents in change..

Do not confuse the clerks at McD's.

I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: 'Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.'

From Kingman , KS

My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for 'minimal lettuce.' He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce.

From Kansas City

I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, 'Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?' To which I replied, 'If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?' He smiled knowingly and nodded,
'That's why we ask.'

Happened in Birmingham , Ala. (One for Jared aka Elder Gibby)

The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it's safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually challenged coworker of mine. She asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, 'What on earth are blind people doing driving?!'

She was a probation officer in Wichita , KS

At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear coworker. She was leaving the company due to 'downsizing.' Our manager commented cheerfully, 'This is fun. We should do this more often.' Not another word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the-headlights stare.

This was a lunch at Texas Instruments.

I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the sake of her life, couldn't understand why her system would not turn on.

A deputy with the Dallas County Sheriffs office, no less.

When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. 'Hey,' I announced to the technician, 'its open!' His reply, 'I know. I already got that side.'

This was at the Ford dealership in Canton , MS

STAY ALERT!
They walk among us... and they VOTE and they REPRODUCE

Monday, January 26, 2009

It Must Be the FLU


I am starting on my upteenth day of being sick (as in ill). I had a headache and body aches. Then I started coughing. I coughed until I though my lungs would come out. I went to the doctor and she said that I had bronchitis and it would clear up in a week or so. Well, the cough subsided after a week on prescription cough syrup (and we all know what that has in it). I was then back to body aches and chills. Then I started coughing again for a couple of days. Then is was back to malaise (sleeping 14 hours a day). Then back to coughing and head congestion. Now I have head congestion, a headache, backache and my throat is swollen up. I thought about going back to the doctor again, but I'll just have to pay another copayment to be told that I have a virus and it will run its course. In Knoxville, I had the actual influenza virus and it took about 2 months to get better. I am well into a month with this one and have given in to the realization that I probably won't feel much better until the snow melts. I have all this projects for the house in the queue, but they just aren't going to happen in the near term. I thought about painting the bedroom (I have just a small area to finish) this Saturday, but it only took a moment to decide that I really just wanted to lay on the couch. I am driving Sherrie crazy by watching movies, but that is about all I feel up to. I get to lay on the couch (moving about every 10 minutes to prevent the muscles from getting to sore) and the movie distracts me from how lousy I actually feel. Well, with some of that whining out of my system, I think I might feel a little better. Now I will hopefully have enough energy to make it up the stairs...

Friday, January 23, 2009

Happy Valentines Day!!!


Another Valentines Day draws near with more memories to create.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

20th Birthday Remembered









With Jared recently celebrating his 20th birthday in the mission field, I thought it would be fun to look back at my own 20th birthday celebration in Guatemala. I was serving in Tiquisate, Guatemala. The branch through me a birthday party with a pinata and, if I remember correctly, seven cakes. It was a blast. The Sister missionaries also came over and we baked a cake and ate it. I think my mother sent the cake mix in the mail. It was certainly a birthday to remember.