19 October - 25 October, 2oo9

#1 My number 8 from last week is my #1 this week. Mark bought a ring for Ashley.


#2 Number 1 this week is easily overshadowed by #2. Mark and Ashley got engaged on Saturday. Yea!
Ashley's mom gave Mark the idea of asking her at Disneyland. She took care of their flights (She works for Jet Blue.). Thank-you so much, Angela.
I called Aunt Carol, and she picked them up at the airport and took them to Disneyland. She went back to Disneyland to pick them up and take them back to the airport. They were flying standby - and the flight had filled up. They knew that could happen, and planned on just sleeping at the airport. Ashley felt a little nervous about that. Aunt Carol invited them to spend the night, and she took them to the airport early Sunday morning. THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU, Aunt Carol.
YEA! Ashley will be in our family :0D

I usually try to list "10 things that made me happy" in the order they happened in the week. (Hence the "not in any particular order".) But this week, number 1 and 2 were pretty important.

#3 After having sinus headaches for the last month +, I got a cold. Yea! The cold is getting better, but my sinus' are feeling a lot better. Better than I have in a month :O)

#4 My recipes this week were both great. I made lemon coconut AFB (Amish friendship bread). I love the lemon pudding flavour best , so far. On Monday I am going to use the AFB to make waffles.
My crock pot recipe this week was great. I made creamy herb chicken. It is low in fat, and I have several ways to expand on the recipe.

#5 WinCo did not disappoint me. The bulk section was all that I remembered. Mark picked up sesame seeds and poppy seeds (for lemon poppy seed AFB) when he and friends went one night. During my 3 visits last week (What can I say, chicken breasts were 98 cents a pound, bananas were 18 cents...) their coupons and ad prices were very good. The store was a very crowded zoo, but very fully staffed and polite. I got the ad in the mail. I will at least keep going for their bulk as I watch the overall prices and sales.

#6 Leslie checked out 2 books on tape (oops, cd) for me, and then loaded them onto my Zune. Thank-you, Leslie.

#7 I saw a fun play at Hale Centre Theatre with Leslie and Christy. It was "CURTAINS", a musical mystery. I had never seen it before and really enjoyed it. Probably my favourite this season. Also, the last production of the season.


#8 Emily and Hilary have been working on a long term project that has stressed them out a bit. I am so happy the project is completed :-D
#9 I am very happy to have a main floor laundry room. I can not believe how much easier it is. I am always happy that we have a washer and dryer, that work. What a great time to be alive. There are so many things that make my life easier, and/or fun.

#10 I found out that my niece, Krista Lynn (Wood) is going to school in Orem. So is her cousin, Sarah (my cousin, Roy's daughter). With Cristopher, that gives me 3 relatives plus Christy there. More people to invite to Sunday dinner. I don't like the work before Sunday dinner, but, I love Sunday dinner with family.

 12 October - 18 October, 2009

#1 Karyn came to stay with us for the week. I had a very nice visit with her. Mark gave her his room, and he slept at Justin's house. (Mark has not missed one class since school started.)
While Karyn was here we went D.I. shopping, to a movie and to the canyons to see the fall colours. We went to Sam's Club for a jacket for Karyn and to Kohl's. We went to Lindsay and David's on Monday for dinner (Hilary did pizza) and "Heros". We watched several movies at my house, and Leslie gave us pedicures.
Christopher came up from Provo on Wednesday for dinner and to visit.

#2- Termeers are in New york City with Michael's family this week. I wish I was there. Or at least that I knew all the details. BUT, from the limited chats that we have had, things seem to be going well. That really makes me happy. :0) :0)

#3-My Amish friendship breads are doing great. This week I made an island bread. (It was supposed to be pina colada, but I could not find the coconut pudding. So I did banana pudding and pineapple and -hey, who finished the coconut? I called a neighbor who gave me some that she had borrowed from another (now moved) neighbor. Thank-you Elaine AND Noelle.) For my crock pot recipe this week I did a rerun for a big family dinner on Wednesday. I made a favourite, cream cheese chicken with rice and/or noodles. Still a favourite of everyone, except Elana who does not like cassaroles or "white chicken".

#4- Charles, Elana and Layne moved this week. They live in the same building as Lindsay, David and Logan, now. Elana has done a great job getting it all put together.

#5 Since Charlie and Elana moved, we could take their washer and dryer anmd desk out of the garage, and to their new apartment. When Christopher came to visit, he took the things we stored for him over the summer. My garage is now emptier. Yea! My goal is to be able to put my car in the garage by Halloween (first time since we started the addition :-)

#6 We had stake conference at the Conference Centre today. It was so relaxing. We left at 9:oo, and did not have nursery. I love nursery, but some days it really wears us out, and since most of us have a little cold, it was nice.
thank-you .

#7 Sweet potato fries make me happy. They are quite healthy (baked with a bit of olive oil and spices) and so flavourful. Too bad they have to cook in a single layer. It cuts down on quantity. The odd thing is that my kids don't like sweet potatoes, but they love my fries.

#8 ?????More about this one later!!!!!

#9 WinCo opens in Midvale tomorrow morning. I first met WinCo in Oregon when we went to pick up Leslie at the end of her mission. We loved the grind your own peanut butter and the H U G E bulk department. I will be really happy if WinCo is the same as the one I went to.

#10 Leslie did almost all of Sunday dinner today. Thank-you, Leslie and Christy. I got a Sunday nap.

5 October, 2oo9 - 11 October, 2oo9

Ahh, good week.

As always these 1o things that made me happy are not in order of importance. There are many things and moments that made me happy or feel blessed, but I can just pick 1o.

#1.I love my fleece sheets - still. Thank-you, Wendy C. for telling me about them. (If one of my children help me I will include a picture of my bed made with my fleece sheets.)

#2.I made banana bread with my Amish friendship bread this week. Good banana bread. I got my first start from Jean D. about 2 months ago. Last Sunday she brought over another start so that I will be able to make the bread every 5 days (about). I enjoy working on it every day, and trying new variations. Thank-you, Jean. (My new crock pot recipe this week was chicken, stuffing and gravy.)

#3. Snow White came out on DVD. Leslie got a $10.00 coupon on line. She was able to print 6 for me. Since Wal-mart had it on sale for $2o.oo, I GOT IT FOR $1o.oo!!!! Not only that, but it hadthe DVD and BLU-RAY discs together. (thinking Christmas:0)

#4. Great Harvest 9 grain bread makes me happy. It is low in fat, high in fibre and protien, and tastes wonderful. Especially toasted. Emily (and sometimes Hilary) brings home a loaf for us about every 5 days. Thank-you, thank-you.

#5. My girls are great team players. We pick things up for each other all the time. Hilary found something I had been wanting and she surprised me with it. But, the bottom line is, that is a story for another day.

#6. I have a really hard time falling asleep. A really hard time. About 2 years ago I saw a movie called, "Ladies in Lavender". The movie was o.k. The music/soundtrack was amazing. I was moved each time I heard certain pieces. I love the violin pieces. For atleast a year I have listened to it almost every night as I (try to) fall asleep. It is so relaxing to me. I love the "Ladies in Lavender" soundtrack.

#7. This week-end there was an antique show. I went with Wendy. Some people like going to movies, or out to lunch. My idea of great fun and entertainment is an antique show. I saw a fireplace surround from the early 19oo's. I want it. Since my addition is complete and decorated, there are lots of things that I like, but don't need to buy. There is not a place for the very nice fireplace, so I could leave without it.

#8. Saturday was a wonderful day. Our sweet Lincoln was baptised. I sure love him and his family. His dad, Abraham, baptised him. Doug was one of the witnesses. Madison, McKenna and Ari sang. Madison played the piano. It was a special day. We went to Lincoln's house for a great lunch, afterwards.

#9. Karyn came to visit us for the week. Mark and I picked her up at the train station at 3:45 a.m. Good thing we were on time. We could not find her, and "they" kept telling us everyone that was getting off, was off. O.K. We'll look again. Nope, not here. Turned out that she was still asleep in the sleeper car ;0) They woke her up and she barely made it off before the train left. It will be fun having her visit us.

#10. "AMAZING RACE". It is a fun "race around the world" show. We sort of watch it together. We are together, and we sort of watch it. Just a fun time that we are all together. We pick teams, have dessert , (sometimes dinner and/or dessert are related to the country of the week) and visit. I like family time.

As always, no wagering as to what will be on my list, and you can earn a place here ;0)

September 28-October 4, 2009

I am doing this by myself, since there is no one here:0)
As always, these are not in order of importance.

1. Doug took a vacation day on Monday. We did not spend much of the day together. I had carpools and a Dr. appt. ((Stupid cholestrol. Not something that made me happy.) Doug mowed the lawns and worked in the garden. Doug took Monday off because he knew he would be working all day Saturday and Sunday on year-end reports. So sad. Thursday night Doug rubbed my back for 30 mins. Thank-you, honey.

2. I love our fleece sheets. This week turned cold (at least cool), so when I changed the sheets-I put the fleece ones on. Not too hot (like flannel). Not too cold (like cotton). Just right!

3. I love Downey Wrinkle Release. Tuesday was ironing day. I got 46 things ironed. About 15 of those ironed were just sprayed and stretched. Ta da.

4. I had book club at my house this week. I tried 2 new recipes from mom Johnson. I made her Asian Salad with bok choy and Napa cabbage, and a Key Lime Margarita pie. They both were great. Mark scrubbed the kitchen floor for book club :0)

5. Since book club was at my house, I got most of my Hallowwen decorations out, and up.

6. We celebrated Lincoln's birthday this week. At midnight on his birthday we went to Denny's. He sat in his booster seat on the way there, but not the way home. On Friday we met his family at Pirate's Island (in Orem) for a birthday dinner. The place was quite fun. We will go back there. We also saw our cousin, Christopher leaving as we went in. Fun.

7. After Lincoln's birthday dinner Hilary, Logan and I drove Emily and Lindsay over to the BYU game. (We won.) Anyway, the thing that made me happy was that Hilary took Logan shopping at Big Lots while I went to the Provo D.I. I did not go to the D.I. at all in September. (Yea for me.) The thing that really made me was that I found a 2 hole punch. I have really really been wanting one. Debbie, you do not need to have David find one for me.) Also, I only spent $4.oo at the D.I.

8. Leslie came home from her cruise. Hilary and I picked her up at the airport Friday night. Well, we got to the airport on Friday night. We waited in the parking lot for 2+ hours. (Her flight was delayed until "Saturday":( I am glad she is back.)

9. I love my family room. It worked great for General Conference Week-end. It is a real holiday for our family. Emily and Hilary had all their beads in the family for everyone to make bracelets. (They have TONS.) They were so generous. Leslie made a glow-in-the-dark Halloween bracelet for me, and Hilary made 2 bracelets for me. Everyone enjoyed the week-end project. Which brings me to...

10. ...General Conference Week-end. I love it. I love that we can spend the week-end hearing the words of our Prophet and leaders-in jammies. I especially love our family traditions. The men go to Priesthood and then we have ice cream after. This year Emily and Hilary bought tickets for everyone to see both Toy Story movies in 3-D. My very favourite part is omelets on Sunday after the morning session. There were 14 of us. Every single family member, except for Doug-at work, was there. (+ Lincoln and Ari) (We count Ashley as family already.) (Layne got to come this time, too.) YEA! I am so happy everyone could, and would, come. Thank-you family for a great week-end. WAIT! We still have Monday off. More about that next week;0)

I decided to record "10 things that made me happy" each week as journal entries. I hear sad things from family and friends, and I know happiness and blessings need to be looked for, acknowleged and gratitude expressed. I mentioned it to my sister, Debbie, and she told me about her friend, Ashlee's 10 things list. Thank-you Debbie (and Ashlee).