81 Good Years

Today my mother-in-law turned 81. She is amazing and I can only say that I have been blessed with the best ever M I L. She is industrious, generous, determined, fair, intelligent, loving, caring, self sacrificing, athletic, funny, a great cook, superb grandma, great housekeeper, old fashioned in the technology scene, self reliant and young at heart. She is also reliable and politically active.

She has raised 6 wonderful children that have been a great addition to the world.

I feel blessed to have been included in this wonderful family for the past 33 years. Thanks Jerry for showing me how to be a good grandma and for leading such a good life. Our whole family thinks you are the best.

The Horse Whisperer

Did you know that Tom has a love for horses? This is his new friend. Lucky is his name. He lives across the street at the Wormuth's house and Tom is his new trainer.

Swine Flu Joke

I was talking to my 9 year old nephew the other day that was recovering from his swine flu symptoms. I said to him, "I heard you were feeling under the weather Evan. He quickly replied. " Oh, yes, we've had lots of rain and wind lately."

Michael Buble'-Catchy Tune

I was on my way to an appointment this am and heard this tune on the radio. Wouldn't you know it was Michael Buble'. America needs a lively upbeat song these days. Thanks for adding a bit of sunshine to my life today Michael. Check it out. I Haven't Met You Yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AJmKkU5POA&feature=player_embedded#

Eagle Scout Project by Kent

Yes, I love this Eagle project done by our amazing neighbor Kent. Now we have directions that shouldn't confuse anyone. Thanks Kent!!!!

Grandkids

I love my grandkids and I am so grateful for them. They bring sunshine to my life every day and I love to see their blogs and everyone of their pics. Here's to baby O and baby M.

Letters Without Windows

I am so grateful to get a "real letter' in the mail. When I retrieve my stuff from the mailbox I am so ecstatic when I see a real piece of mail that actually has some personal identity attached. A few handwritten words are so welcome. Let's keep the USPS alive and well and write someone today.

Exercise and Jack

Since I've had to take it easy the last few days I must say that I miss going to the gym. Exercise is great and I appreciate Jack La Lane and his push to make everyone more fit. I met him when I was working at a talk radio station in SLC. I just heard that he was celebrating his 95th birthday and did 95 push ups and 95 jumping jacks. Impressive.

The Air Boot and The Reader's Digest

Ok, there are two more things that I am grateful for.

1. The Air Boot-no need to explain.

2. The Readers Digest-on pg. 164 of the Nov 2009 issue states, "people who wrote down what they are grateful for felt 25 percent happier after ten weeks than those who did not." I'm taking the challenge.

A Date With The Swimming Pool

This past Monday I made my way to the local swimming pool for my usual 1/2 hour of pure relaxation. I found an open lane and instead of going down the stairs and swimming over to the lane I decided to jump in.
That was the moment where my intelligence left my mature mind. I plunged into the water and shot like a bullet to the bottom of the pool, slamming my R foot into the concrete bottom. My first thought was that I had just done something really stupid. The pain in my entire R leg made this a reality and not just a thought.
I'll just swim around for a while and shake off the pain I said to myself. That worked for about 20 minutes but then the pain never left and I had to face the fact that I couldn't stay in the pool forever. Somehow I would have to get out of the pool and let go of my pride.
With the help of some very professional lifeguards I was able to get to the dressing room and then out to my car. Whew, I felt like I had just completed a marathon. Not that I know what that feels like but anyway, I made it home.
Now I had to get inside without putting any weight on my foot. You guessed it. I crawled across the garage floor and up the two steps into my laundry room and then found some old crutches that had been collecting dust for several years. Yeah, that modern invention made life so much better.
I am now recovering from an injured foot. Diagnosis. Bruised heel that was slammed against concrete. I'm not sure what the real label is but it should be better in about 6-8 weeks I hope.
It was an adventuresome day and I was so grateful for several things.
1. I only injured 1 foot.
2. Experienced lifeguards (one was a mechanical engineer that had recently been layed off from her job and was lifeguarding to pay the bills)
3.The ability to crawl like a baby. This can be a great way to get around when the legs aren't functioning.
4. Crutches.
More later on my gratitude.

President Boyd K. Packard

I just finished watching both sessions of the Saturday 179th General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to sit in my own home and watch the meetings on the internet. This is a milestone for us since we do not have cable or satellite TV.

In years past we have tried to listen or watch over the internet but it was very patchy and half the time the connection was buffering. That did not happen today and I was so pleased.

My favorite talk was from Boyd K. Packard ( the last one of the day). He gave a very strong talk about listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit that included many real life experiences.