December came with a little surprise, in the form of my daughter, her husband and my two sweet grandsons moving in with us for a couple of weeks. A little delay in the completion of their new home meant two weeks of fun for me. Some of my normal December activities were put on hold (such as blogging) and quality time with my grandkids was put at the top of the priority list. Although several of us caught a little flu bug, I wouldn't have changed a thing. We were blessed to have all of our immediate family in home for Christmas Eve and for a short time on Christmas day. Nothing means more to me than that. As far as I'm concerned, it was the perfect Christmas. We would normally take off for the cabin the day after Christmas, but with the new home and a snow cat that needs a little repair work, we will welcome in the new year at home this year. May your 2014 be filled with joy and happiness.
Whew… life has been so busy for the past couple of weeks that my blogging has gone out the window. Pardon me while I play a little catch up. During November, I concentrated on all of the things I am thankful for. They included family and friends, hobbies, good food and travel. I spent the Thanksgiving holiday away from home this year and enjoyed seeing my extended family. I said goodbye to the last of my summer flowers and hello to gorgeous autumn leaves. I enjoyed the first snow run of the season and, of course, spent a great deal of time with my camera and my guitar. I also hosted our family book club and celebrated my mom's 79th b-day. It's a week into December already and there is no sign of slowing in my daily schedule. I'm hoping to squeeze in a few posts here and there throughout the month, but I'm making no promises. Until next time...
I'm doing a '30 Days of Gratitude' project with my photo group for the entire month of November. Each day we take a photo of something we are grateful for. I really wanted to think out of the box on this, so I have chosen to photograph things that are a little out-of-the-ordinary. Things that I tend to take for granted every day of my life. I've also chosen to do my project on IG. But, I wanted to share yesterday's installment in the hopes that you might join me. It's not too late to start. Take a picture each day, post it on IG, your blog or Flickr, or don't post it at all. The choice is yours. Perhaps you'll just want to print out the photos and hang them up somewhere as a reminder of how blessed you are. It's a great little exercise to do this time a year when our thoughts are more centered on being thankful.
I say this every month, but the month of October has truly flown by! Highlights included a trip to the pumpkin patch, the debut of my new road bike and a very fun night with the gals at the RSL game. I watched general conference, nursed a two-week cold and said a special prayer for the husband of a friend. I made lots of soup and used as many fresh apples as possible. Thanks Mike and Brandon for the apples!! I decked the house and yard out with autumn decor. and spent a little in-between time with my grandsons. I also managed to squeeze in a new video class, which I am loving. The autumn leaves are now falling rapidly off the trees and the weather is starting to get a little colder. Next week, we will turn our clocks back and the official start to the holiday shopping season will begin. Just thinking about it makes me a little tired, but even more excited.
This month was jam-packed with all kinds of fun. I spent a week in St. George with good friends hiking, biking, swimming, playing tennis and just generally enjoying the warm sunshine and some good laughs. Back at home, the weather turned a little cooler which meant a little baking and lots of homemade soup. We spent Labor Day with family and enjoyed plenty of rain throughout the month. I spent the last week of September 'under the weather' which made the month slip by even faster than usual. October brings yard clean-up and, hopefully, a return to full health.
As August is drawing to a close, I have realized just how little I have blogged this month. It's not that there hasn't been anything to blog about. Just the opposite, actually. My new grandson arrived this month, I attended a movie premier, a thousand bridal showers (okay, I might be exaggerating a bit), made a cute little baby quilt, baked for my book club and had my oldest grandson over for his first sleepover at grammie's house. I've been enjoying the bounteous harvest of my summer garden and started back up with guitar lessons after taking the month of July off for family time. This past week, I've been smelling a touch of fall in the air on my early morning runs and have noticed the geese are already flying south for the winter. I'm predicting an earlier winter this year, but I intend to enjoy the beautiful autumn season for as long as I can. September starts tomorrow, and with it comes the beautiful changing leaves, cooler temperatures and canning season. Farewell August 2013...
The month of July can be summed up with one word. HOT!! I can't remember a hotter July in recent years. With all of the heat, it was nice to get up to the cabin over the 4th. Tate had his 3rd birthday and Mike turned 29. We celebrated it by going out for Japanese food. The garden veggies are starting to come on. It was a good month for cucumbers, onions and fresh corn. Peaches have been out of this world this year. Our family book club chose 'Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt' this month and it was wonderful. I spent a great deal of time editing photos over the last few weeks, and did a little photo shoot for the Griffin family. As I look forward to August, I'm anticipating cooler temps, and even more exciting, the arrival of my new grandson! Stay tuned....
Better late than never.... right? Holy cow!! Where did June go?? I've been so busy that I didn't even get much time to instagram this past month (let alone blog about it). There were lots of RSL games, time at the horse track, annual checkups (blah!!) and a road trip to Idaho to check out the phenomenal fly fishing. I did a lot of gardening and took advantage of all of the fresh fruits and veggies available this time of year. And, as always, I spent a good deal of time with Tate.
I've been a bit of a slacker in the last few weeks with my blogging. I'm making no promises for the rest of July, as it seems to be busier that usual around here. However, I will try to pop in occasionally, when time permits. Hope you're having a fabulous summer.
May was packed with lots of activities and loads of instagram photos. We spent time at the cabin, two temples and Mike's new house (complete with horse property and dogs.) The weather was unpredictable at best. Mother's Day brought bocce ball and relaxation in my hammock. I planted my garden and flowers, played a ton with Tate and ventured to City Creek and Trader Joe's with Brittany. Zach got hitched and I hit my one-year mark playing the guitar. My photo club took a field trip to temple square and I decorated Dad A's grave. Bob was away for half of the month, but when he got home, he made up for it by working with Mike on his new home. I'm continuing some classes with Kim and Brittany just passed the 6-month mark with her pregnancy. It won't be long now before my new little grandson arrives!
Wow... I don't even know where April went. It flew by this year. We had lots of rain, but plenty of blue-sky-filled days also. We spent time with Tate at the lake, celebrated Skyler's b-day at the pool, and tried out a new Polynesian restaurant for Dallin's b-day. I 'tricked out' my cell phone for Spring, finished up my html and css courses and scheduled doctor and dentist appointments. I also did a little closet organizing and took my first trip to Trader Joe's. Yum!! Our photo club took a field trip to temple square (more on that later) and I tried out some new, healthy salad recipes. Most importantly, I finally finished HP5, and have started on #6. Those puppies take FOREVER!! What's on tap for May? I'll be planting my flowers and my vegetable garden and getting my yard all summer-ready.
In like a lion, and out like a lamb. That usually sums up the month of March for me. But this year, I was able to spend half of the month in a tropical paradise, which meant a lot more lamb than lion. The month started out with another birthday come and gone, my first homemade b-day card from a grandchild and indoor s'mores at book club. There was plenty of picture-taking, a bird named Roger and lots of time relaxing at the beach. I took a long walk to a lighthouse, enjoyed the beautiful snow-capped mountains of home and the beautiful tropical flowers of the Hawaiian Islands. I saw many beautiful sunsets and spent a great deal of time catching up on school work. And now, I'm looking forward to plenty of April showers and May flowers in the months to come.
Although January passed by in a blur, the shortest month of the year has been dragging. Cold weather and plenty of snow, a trip to the E.R., horse races and a new mug top the list. There was a birthday for Brooke, plenty of time spent with my grandson, Tate and some tasty food along the way. I'm getting anxious for the weather to start turning warmer in the next few weeks. And then, it's time for the tulips and daffodils. I can hardly wait!!
One of the things I love most about my iPhone is that I always have a good camera with me. That comes in handy for days like this when the cold crisp air is accompanied by beautiful light. And, of course, there is no better place to capture that light than here.... my place of peace. Although it has been a long winter, and I have gone on an on lately about how ready I am for Spring, today the world around me seems beautiful and I am filled with peace and contentment.(A far cry from yesterday's post) And, because I don't know what tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that will bring, I am going to enjoy every minute of it.
January has passed by in a blur. A warm weather cruise, tons of snow, new resolutions, our 30th anniversary and lots of warm soup. We have managed to avoid the awful flu season, so far, in our home(knock on wood). The days have flown by so quickly. I can hardly believe the month is over. I'm looking forward to nicer weather and the sound of birds outside my window in the months to come. Here's a few instagram pics from January. I'm loving the camera on my new iPhone. Since I can't always carry around my big-girl camera, it's nice to have an alternative.
For a split second, I thought it was over. Winter, that is. Yesterday, the clouds parted, the inversion lifted, and I looked outside to see the beautiful blue sky. I raced for my iPhone and captured this cute little sun flare and posted it over on my Instagram page. I thought to myself, 'well, winter wasn't so long afterall'. My mood was elevated and I started thinking about Spring. Visions of tulips and daffodils were dancing around in my head all day, and I started thinking about Easter candy, which, to be honest, isn't that unusual. I even took the remaining Winter decorations down from the shelves. It turns out I may have acted too soon. This is what I woke up to this morning....
Looks like I won't be getting my garden tools out anytime soon.
We have great friends. We get to see them all of the time. Some have moved away, but most of our close friends live right near us. A good number of them live right in our neighborhood. We pass each other on the street all the time and manage to get together a couple of times each year to go on vacations. But, we don't really spend a lot of time together other than that. I think we have started taking them for granted, knowing they are always there if we need them, but not putting anything into our relationship with them. We used to have the excuse that we were so busy keeping up with all of the things our kids were involved in. However, that really isn't the case anymore. So why does it seem to be so hard to get together for simple date nights like dinner or a show? I think we have gotten lazy, and by "we" I mean me. It's so easy to just jump in my pj's in the evening after the sun goes down and settle in for the night. Last weekend, a couple of our good friends asked us to dinner and a Jazz game. We had such a great time just being together and enjoying a relaxing evening as friends. As the new year approaches, I'm going to make it a priority to spend more 'hours' with my friends. Life is short, and I've still got a lot of memories to make! Thanks Cal and Lori, for reminding us why we love you guys so much:)
People often ask me why I run outside in the wintertime with all of the cold weather and dark, dreary skies. My answer? Well, just look at the beautiful reason I captured with my iPhone today. You just can't get views like this in a hot, sweaty gym, running on the treadmill. No thank you. I'll stick to my beautiful, dark, dreary skies.
Oh how I wait for these sweet, juicy little nuggets to show up in the stores this time of year!! It makes me feel like singing... or, writing a poem.
There's nothing better in the winter time
than a juicy, orange clementine.
I'll stop there:)
I have a secret passion. It's just a silly little thing I love to do whenever the opportunity arises, which isn't very often. Ready? I love to run and twirl around through flocks of birds. See... I told you it was silly. When I was visiting Italy about eight years ago, my fondest memory of the entire trip was running through a flock of pigeons in the middle of the cobblestone town square. No kidding. I felt like a little girl in my version of a candy store. I have no idea where this strange fascination started, but I have had it for as long as I can remember. Perhaps it's because I was named after a bird (literally) or because I love birds, and the sky, and twirling, and fresh air... I don't know for sure. But I do know that this morning when I went for my run, I came upon this beautiful sight and something stirred inside of me. You can only imagine what I did. Luckily, I was the only one in sight (minus a few construction workers across the way who witnessed the whole thing.) I don't care though. You only live once. Plus it's not like they will ever see me again... at least not until Wednesday. But rest assured I will wear different clothes. Mostly because the ones I wore today have bird poop on them :)
