Been busy doing this....and this!

Thank goodness Christmas is over with....I spent the better part of December working on Kim's "theater room" and Zhi Wei's bedroom painting projects. Oh, and Katie's bathroom painting, as well. Yes, I am exhausted and tired of painting, but am also pretty happy with the results. There's nothing like a fresh coat of paint to make things seem new and clean.
I came home from church yesterday hoping to have a relaxing day of doing NOTHING but watch TV, but to my dismay, the shelf in my entertainment center had spontaneously combusted!! The shelf above my TV had broken and my stereo, DVD player, cable box and all my DVD's and CD's were sprawled on top of the television. It took me a while to untangle the mess of wires and hook-ups. It appeared that the board just snapped in half--for no apparent reason. It happened some time between midnight and 2:20pm on Sunday, Wierd happenings around my house. It has prompted me to clean out all the unnecessary junk in the house. That will be the plan for this week. I'm hoping to go through every cupboard and drawer and trash anything that is unused or unnecessary.
I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Wrigley Had a Birthday

Well, my little God-Puppy turned 2 this week and we threw a little party for him. I took him to do his favorite thing in the whole world: to chase the tennis ball at the school. Then we had spaghetti dinner, opened presents and had birthday cake, which he wolfed down. Wriggy had a good day!!

Happy Birthday Shout-Out to my Sister!!!

Well, the time has finally come and my little baby sister has hit the big "Four-Oh!!" Here's a little pictorial tribute and a birthday wish for her---May the next 40 years kick the pants off of the first 40 years!!
Happy Birthday Kori!!!That's me in the pretty yellow outfit with Kori, Mom and Steve (sporting super floods and playing with "clackers." (1970-71??)
Kori with the pretty white Christmas tree and pink ornaments that we had FOREVER!
Kori when she was about 3--Didn't mom have the EXACT SAME OUTFIT?!?!?
The Cutest Mini-Spinnie Ever!!!
Yes, that is her best side!!!
That is the "Thurman Girls"...Janet, me and Kori (pulling a funny face for the picture!) Janet's youngest son, Alex is there, too!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KORI

Right Time, Right Place

Have you ever just been in the right place at the right time...and had your camera ready??? I was driving down 53rd South yesterday evening, I had just replaced the batteries in my camera and it was on the seat right beside me when a big white truck pulled up next to me with this in the passenger seat...

I grabbed the camera and snapped the picture just the canine turned slightly my way. What you can't really see in the picture is that the dog is in a "doggie car seat" and is belted in for safety. Looks like he (she?) is one very loved mutt!!

and the T-Shirt Award Winner Is...

While wandering around the USU football stadium a few weeks ago I saw this t-shirt and couldn't resist snapping a picture of it. It made me giggle as I envisioned some kidnappers trying to scoop up this old guy and chuck him into the back of a truck. Somehow I don't think being kidnapped should be on his list of ligitimate fears.
T-shirts are incredible things. I've heard it said that you can get people to do almost anything for a free t-shirt. I know I've participated in lots of activities just to get a t-shirt. At one time I had 12 corporate games shirts in my closet from several years worth of participating in activities from bowling to softball to indoor computer golf. Oh, once I even participated in what I consider to be the WORST corporate games activity of all. No, its not the karaoke contest(which is pretty bad) but the company tug-of-war. Ugh, I HATE that activity. I think I was asked to participate in it because I would be a good anchor. Or in other words, I could legitimatly wear a t-shirt that said, "I'm not fat, I'm just hard to kidnap." Enough said about that.
The favorite t-shirt that I currently own in one that is no longer appropriate to wear outside the walls of my own home. It is the 2002 Olympic shirt I got at the Medals Plaza---long-sleeved and North Carolina blue. Unfortunately, it has been so well loved that it is all stretched out and holey due to the multiple washings it has had to endure over the past 5 years. I heard someone say one time that a t-shirt should never have dates on it; ie. "2002 Winter Olympic Games." On the contrary, I think a t-shirt is a wearable travel log so that others can see where you've been and what you're interested in. For example, my newest t-shirt is from the 2008 "Pirate Run or Walk the Plank" fundraiser, and my oldest t-shirt is from 1997 Chicago Cubs baseball season with a caricature of Harry Caray on the back singing "I'm a Cub Fan and a Bud Man." All of my t-shirts have special sentimental value. In fact, when I sort through my clothes to make a DI run I have to put the t-shirts in a pile and wait for a few months to see if I really am ready to part with them.
And that's how I feel about t-shirts.

Recreational Volleyball

In 1977 I played on the Cyprus High School volleyball team. We took our region title, then went on to the State Finals held that year at BYU. Unfortunately, we lost the state title to a far less talented team from Box Elder High School. (Not that I'm still bitter about it, but...)
My friend Katie is playing on a recreational league for 5th and 6th graders in Murray. They were looking for a coach and I have no life...so, what could I do? I'm excited to play with the kids. We had our first games already and we won our first 2 matches without losing game. The girls were so excited. We'll see how the rest of the season goes, but for now you can just call me "Coach."

Easy on the Eyes

Both of these photo's are from our big Lake Powell trip last month. We were awakened at "o'dark thirty" and took off in the speed boats so we could be the first and only people at Rainbow Bridge that morning. To say it was beautiful is an under statement. It was truly awe inspiring. We had the place to ourselves (all 13 of us) and were not rushed or crowded when we took about a bazillion pictures.

When is the post Lake Powell trip party??



Somewhere near Rainbow Bridge.


Ahhh...Rainbow Bridge with Navajo Mountain in the background.

My Foot

Right or left, either one helps get me around. This one was pushing off the walls of the slot canyon at Lake Powell last month. Pushing off in an effort to keep the boat from bumping the canyon walls of sandstone and getting damaged. I guess if my foot got damaged it could regenerate itself in time.