Thanksgiving Fun

This Thanksgiving, for me, was one of the best ever (and the worst ever). How come the best and the worst have to come in pairs so often? Could it have something to do with if you had no pain you wouldn't know what joy is? The only bad part was not having my 4 family members with us (Justin, Chancy, Halley and Ryan). The rest was pure joy. I can't remember a day when I've laughed so hard or had so much fun in a long time. Here's what our day included:

The men carving the turkey . . . . this is a tradition for us . . .

Family around the table . . . .
The food! Wow, we are good cooks!


Painting and glittering of toe-nails!

My poor mom is going to have a hard time getting rid of the glitter in her house!


The finished product . . . . .
Decorating "ginger" bread houses . . . . .

Our "ginger" village complete with dads rendition of a geodesic dome house!

Game playing in which we laughed until it hurt!


And last, but not least our long-time standing tradition of singing Christmas carols around the piano. We didn't even start singing until 10 p.m. Where did all the time go?????

It felt really weird to have only one of our children with us. Hopefully in years to come we will be able to get together again . . . . . only time will tell!

Lucky me!

Last Saturday I had my Fall piano recital. This recital was a lot smaller than most of my recitals have been and so I decided to take a little time before each student performed and share with the audience something unique about them. The whole process made me so thankful that I have a part in each one of their lives. Even though I do this for extra income, I feel it is a contribution to society to help build the lives of young people (and even the adults I teach!) I feel honored to be their teacher and that I get to spend quality time with each of them each week.

Being a piano teacher is the best of all worlds. I get to choose my own hours, work at home, do something I love, and enrich others lives. I can be having a down day, and after piano lessons I have a smile back on my face. LOVE IT!

On Thanksgiving

Yesterday I took a nap in the middle of the day. I set my alarm so that I would only sleep 30 minutes. Our alarm wakes us up to music not a buzzer. As I was waking up, the announcer said "happy genocide week." WHAT???!!! I had never heard this phrase, and it bothered me for several hours. It is still bothering me. Do people really look at Thanksgiving as the day as the day we celebrate the near annihilation of the American Indians? How sick is this. Okay, okay, I know there is probably an element of truth to this, BUT, why do people try to ruin every holiday that comes along. I've seen more of this since living in this area. I HAVE spent the last 10 years in this area so maybe more of this is going on everywhere than I know of.

Halloween has become "satan's birthday." Christmas break has become the "holiday" break . . . . and you know all that comes along with that one. Easter isn't really Easter, because the calendar is wrong, and now Thanksgiving is a celebration of genocide??

So here is my plea . . . . let Thanksgiving be just what it is meant to be, a day of Thanksgiving! (I'm sure there are a good many of our Native American friends doing JUST that!)

(Note: spellcheck wants me to capitalize satan! I refuse . . . . got to take a stand somewhere!)

Thankful for Humor

Have you ever seen one of these babies . . . . . ?It is a Body Mass Index chart. It is supposed to let you know if you are underweight, just right, at risk of being over weight or overweight.

I went to lunch with Lincoln the other day. In the area where his office is, there is a chart like this hanging on the wall. After looking at it, I found out that I am "at risk" of being overweight. Just next-door to being overweight . . . . . it took me by surprise . . . . . I don't like this chart! Have you ever seen one of those pictures where a skinny girl is standing in front of a mirror and all she sees is fat?
WELL! Maybe I'm a reverse of this image. I looked and looked but couldn't find an appropriate (aka, one that I'd post!) picture of an "at risk" overweight person standing on a scale thinking she is thin when really she is just the opposite!. . . . . . . I read the numbers on my scale and think Nah! Can't be! I need to throw that blasted thing away! . . . . . along with the chart!

Humor aside . . .. . I think this chart would be great for 20-year olds . . . . but they should have one for 30's, 40's and 50's and beyond . . . . . doesn't body maturity count for anything????? It should!

An Easy Thank You

On this the Sabbath day . . . . . I'm taking the easy way out and letting OTHER people say what they are thankful for . . . . . (and thanks Debby for the link!)

A LaZy Thanks

Sometimes it pays to be slothful. Last night when Lincoln came home from work, I had just gotten up from a two-hour nap. Not a surprise! because I hadn't gotten to bed until 3 a.m. that morning. Usually when Lincoln gets home I have dinner pretty much on the table because I have to plan WAY ahead, because of my piano lessons, to get everything in the oven or crock pot early. It is weird that on Friday, my piano-lesson-free days, I usually don't have anything ready when Lincoln gets home . . . . . and I have plenty of time to do it!

How does it pay to be slothful? When Lincoln didn't smell any dinner in the works, he said, "let's go out to eat tonight." Music to my ears! Woo Hoo! I am thankful for slothfulness!

A CrAzY Thanks

Okay, why is this underlining everything? I can't get rid of it so here goes!

I would have never thought of doing this: The midnight showing of "New Moon"!

This is our book club. Since the opening night of New Moon was on the same night as book club, Stephanie (thank you Stephanie!) had the idea to go to dinner to "discuss" our book and to go to the movie. We didn't "discuss"(!!!!) our book very much, and had to yell over the live band at the restaurant . . . . . . I have to say it was a wonderful time with amazing ladies. I didn't actually eat dinner . . . . . I had a big . . . .fat . . . . warm . . . . moist . . . . fudgy . . . . brownie with ice cream on the side . . . . yummmmmmmmmmm.

Here we are waiting in line for the movie. I didn't get into bed until just before 3 a.m. this morning. I can't believe I'm up already. McKay was up and busy doing school work when I got up (he started an hour early today) you've got to be kidding me!

Seeing the movie with a theater full of teenagers is quite an experience. It made me laugh in all the wrong places, because they were laughing in all the wrong places. (or was I just not getting it? probably!!!). What a fun night . . . . . and Native American men ROCK! Go Jacob!

A Simple Thanks

This one may seem silly, but as I go through my day I am constantly thinking "what can I blog about that I am thankful for." I think of multiple things and then forget to jot them down, and soon forget. I need to start carrying a notebook around with me!

I know this is simple but it is true. I am thankful for Green Giant's vegetable steamers. After a day of piano lessons, I can pop one of these babies into the microwave and wallah! vegies! I even use these for a snack during the day. Who gains weight eating vegetables? They are good, you can eat as many of them as you want to, and I'm hoping there is some nutritional value after having been zapped in the microwave! Give em a try if you haven't already.

The other day, McKay asked me how anyone could get along without a microwave . . . . I'll have to save that one for another "thankful" post if I get into a pinch!

I wonder if Green Giant will send me a royalty check!!!! lol

A Homegrown Thanks

I am thankful to be homeschooling my son McKay this year. This is my first year to homeschool him and I still don't know if we will continue or if it will be his last. There are so many good things that have come from our homeschooling experience. I feel like we are actually gaining our son back, although I never sensed that we were losing him.

McKay and I spend a lot more quality time together than we used to. He comes to talk to me more than he did before. He shares his excitement and his frustrations. I see him picking up on some of my habits, like, the other day I was sitting at the table eating breakfast with the newspaper and he picked up part of it and started looking at it also. THAT is a first! Yesterday, just for the heck of it, we went and had lunch together. Today we will go spend lunch with Lincoln. We just have to alter the homeschool hours a little and it all works out.

I see him and his dad spending much more time together. Since I was failing miserably at having McKay do PE, Lincoln took it upon himself to be the PE teacher. (Lincoln calls it PT, because of his military background!) Every night after dinner they read from the Book of Mormon for a while and then they exercise. I told McKay that most dads, after being gone from home from 5:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. would just come home, eat dinner, and spend the rest of the night in front of the TV. That isn't happening here!

We finished up our first semester a couple of weeks ago, and things are looking good! He and I am learning a lot in the 8th grade!

(my spell check doesn't like the word homeschool, but homeschooling if fine! What is up with that?!!!)

Thankful ponderings

Can a person be irritated and thankful at the same time? I am thankful for blogging. It has been wonderful to keep up with family and friends who I don't get to see but once or twice every 10 years or so. Is it just my imagination or has most of my family stopped blogging? Maybe it is just the season . . . . . or maybe I'm the only one who has the desire anymore?

Lately I had one of the most important people that I blog for tell me that he/she doesn't have the time to look at my blog. When I think about it, this he/she has plenty of time for TV and reading. This he/she has time for family in his/her's area. But he/she has no time to look at my family journaling . . . . . complete with pictures? I'm floored!! I'm exasperated! I'm trying not to care. Dance as if no one is watching you . . . . . blog as if no one is reading you! (thank you to my readers! I appreciate you!) You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink . . . . . why hasn't this lesson been firmly planted in my brain? I have to learn this one over and over again for some reason.

My blog has gone crazy. Do you see this blog skin I have? . . . . . I did not choose it, it chose me. Every time I cut-and-paste a new background into my blog a random one shows up. What is this? Finally, when some semi-acceptable background showed up that I could live with, I stopped. I don't dare try again . . . . . but I will have to soon, thanksgiving will be over next week!

What is funny is THIS will be the day when he/she decides to open my blog and read it and then I'll be in big Trouble, with a capital T!

I Thank Thee

I, Tina, having been born of goodly parents. . . . . . . didn't realize how good of parents they were until I left the "parental" nest! After getting ear-loads of information from other college students about their home life, I began to understand how idyllic my childhood was.

My parents, did the very best they could to raise their 4 children. They taught us the value of work. They taught us responsibility. They taught us how to be independent. They taught us how to play. They taught us how to fish!

One of the foremost things that I received from my parents was (and is) the love of music. My mother inspired me to play the piano by her beautiful piano playing. I remember sitting down with her at the piano bench and her playing her famous (in our house it was famous!) rendition of "Swaying Daffodils" and another one called "Falling Leaves" which I particularly loved and would beg her to play. She taught piano lessons in our home and I remember listening and wondering when it would be my turn to take lessons. She started me off at 4 years of age, and the rest is history! My dad also sat down and plunked (sorry dad for the "plunked"!)out a few tunes on the piano every morning while mom made breakfast (most of the time we had a hot breakfast!) He would play his version of "Elmer's Tune" and "The Entertainer" among others. I never felt my piano playing was complete until I could play those tunes also! Another great accomplishment for me was when I was able to take over the Christmas Carol playing in our family. We loved to sing Christmas Carols together, mom and Trudy with their soprano, I with my alto, dad with his bass voice, and the boys singing, I can't remember what . . . . . sorry guys!

One of my favorite things about dad is that he made me do my own mechanic work on my car! I had an Volkswagen Bug that he and his employee had converted into a Baja Bug. It had a 6-volt system and I needed it to be 12-volt system so that I could run a stereo in it. I know what I would have told my kids . . . . "just live with it" . . . . but NO! . . . my dad said, "okay, here's what you need to do" pointed out a few things, and I did the conversion (minus the generator) myself. I remember that I changed out all the little light bulbs and other electrical things that I can't remember the names of and before long I had a 12-volt system and a stereo! He also taught me how to change the tires on my car and he wouldn't come to the rescue when I had a flat! I still say women are just not strong enough to get those stupid lug-nuts loose :(.

I could go on and on, but I won't . . . . this is too long already, just know, mom and dad, that I'm thankful you are my parents. LOVE YOU BOTH!

God Bless the USA

I'm thankful to be an American . . . . . . we all need to remember what that entails. Here's an oldie but a goodie . . . .

Thank my Lucky Stars!

I Thank God everyday for letting me be lucky enough to meet my husband. I really didn't do much dating and so I really did a good job when the roulette wheel stopped and on jumped Lincoln. It could have gone either way . . . . good or bad, and thankfully we've had a good life.

Lincoln is definitely a type A personality. He tries his darndest best to be 100 percent in all that he does. He is a great provider, a great father, a great companion, and a great lover, and just a great all-around person. Above all, the thing I appreciate about him the very most is the fact that he allows me to be me. He hasn't tried to assimilate me into being what he wants me to be. He lets me read what I want to read, do what I want to do, and make my own decisions. Believe me, if he had tried to do it any other way, we would be butting heads ALL of the time! He is a very wise man! By giving me my autonomy he has given me self-esteem and helped me to be a confident person. To him I will always be grateful.

I just found this quote:

In The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran wrote:

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together;
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow

I know we don't stand too far apart because we have been accused of PDA (public display of affection) and have been asked if we are newlyweds. "ALWAYS newlyweds," Lincoln likes to respond!

THANKS Honey!

Thankful Thesaurus

Main Entry:	thankful
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	appreciative
Synonyms:	beholden, contented, grateful, gratified, indebted, much obliged, obliged, overwhelmed, pleased, relieved, satisfied
Antonyms:	critical, thankless, unappreciative, ungrateful, unthankful

It helps me, when trying to understand a word better, if I read the Thesaurus and find out what the synonyms and antonyms are. I think it is interesting to note that contentment is a synonym for being thankful. Being thankful is a way to be happy. May I always stay on the "synonym" side of the word thankful! Well . . . . . I'd take it even 80 percent of the time!!! Always is a pretty strong word. If you were always happy (and all the other thankful words), you'd never grow as a person . . . . . we need to be grateful for our stumbling blocks as well!

So today I am PLEASED to say that I finished reading the Scarlet Pimpernel! I had a hard time getting into it but thought it was great after reading it. I'm "thankful" that I continued on and that I pushed through my usual 50 page limit. Makes me think that maybe I should expand my limit to 100 pages . . . . . I'll have to think about that one!

Thankful 4 U

This is the second of my "give thanks" series! In my last post I thanked family members for helping my two boy children while they make their start in Utah. I would be very remiss if I didn't thank my daughter Halley and her husband Ryan for letting Chancy stay with them for 2 plus weeks. I know it was uncomfortable for both of them and a sacrifice to have him there. I am thankful for their willingness to take him in. Halley has 21 credits this semester and works a part-time job and is super busy just keeping her own life together. Ryan works 2 jobs and is building up a business. She and Ryan let Chancy use their vehicles, ran him around to find jobs and helped to find an apartment and, I'm sure fed him!


Thanks Halley and Ryan!

Our Lunch with The Veep

Last Friday I got a call. I usually don't answer phone calls that I don't recognize the number to. This was a Virginia number and it said CSI. It took me a moment and a few heart thumps and then with a little trepidation I answered the phone. It was Guard Bureau wanting to talk to Lincoln. After I told them that Lincoln had forgotten his cell phone at home and he wouldn't be able to get in touch with them until Monday, the lady on the other end of the phone told me that we had been invited to have lunch with Vice President Biden and his wife at their home on Veteran's day! I was super excited! She needed our social security numbers, birth dates and full names and made sure we were US Citizens and then ended the call. All of the sudden, I wondered what I had just done! I had just given away our important information without actually verifying the call! Oh MAN! Hopefully this was on the up and up! Thankfully it was.

Even though I didn't vote for the man, I realized that this was an opportunity that will only happen once in our lifetime. If I weren't married to Lincoln it would have never happened to us! Biden wanted to honor Veterans on Veteran's day, and because Lincoln had just served outside of the country for a while (and is a veteran) he got picked for this duty. An honor! The seal on the podium.

I was a little disappointed that we weren't actually inside the house. We were told that the lunch would be at the Veep's residence. This is a tent, although be it a nice tent, just outside of his house. I'd say there were about 500 people in attendance. Not very many active duty military though . . . . . mostly retired veterans and people who work in veteran relations.

McKay and I.

This is just before the Biden's speeches. They seemed very real and warm. Vice President Biden is a pretty funny guy in person. He likes to crack jokes, and he didn't even make any of those famous "bumbles" we hear about.

After the speeches Jill Biden worked one side of the room (our side) and VP Biden worked the other side of the room. Actually Jill continued on after she was done and shook hands and took pictures with almost everyone. She paid extra attention to the kids in the room and asked McKay if he was going to follow in his father's footsteps. He didn't know what to say. "Probably not" would have been a good answer! Doesn't he look like he is enjoying her hug???

The Bidens didn't eat with everyone . . . . they probably were off to do more Veteran's day stuff. The meal was good ole American hamburgers and hotdogs! A McKay pleaser! The vegies on the side were quite interesting. They were pickled or marinated in original ways. Hard to explain . . . . . but good. The little brownies they served were to die for! Melt in your mouth!

The day was rainy. I wore a beany hat all the way to the function. It could have been a very bad hair day! This was out in front of the residence as we were leaving. All-in-all it was a pretty fun day, and I got a new pant suit out of the deal! Now Lincoln can enjoy watching the war movies that he usually watches on Veteran's day. He's already gotten to it!

Thankfulness

Someone on facebook challenged her friends to write about something they are thankful for everyday until Thanksgiving. I usually ignore such challenges, independent thinker that I am (aka stubbornness). This time I will succumb to peer pressure and give it a go. Thankfulness, or being thankful has great rewards, both to the giver and the receiver.


Here we go! . . . . . . thankful post number 1.


Right now I am thankful to Lincoln's brother and sister-in-law, Marshall and Donna and to Lincoln's mother Claudette. They have all taken my 2 boys in Utah under their wing and tried to help them out in innumerable ways. Although the boys had a full-time job, Marshall is getting them another (interview today) up at a ski resort that he is the CEO of. They also brought the boys mattresses to sleep on, (the boys only had sleeping bags), a TV (they could have done without that!) food, pots and pans and other essentials. They also have been giving the boys some good advice, of which, I'm sure coming from someone other than their parents may be listened to. Marshall also took them to a U of U football game, I guess he's trying to make them both "Utes"!


Thank you Marshall, Donna and Claudette!

It's Snowing

At our house it's snowing leaves!


Mark Twain should meet my oldest son. Before he left for Salt Lake City, he owed me some chores. I asked him to rake my yard. No small feat! Raking is a huge undertaking every year. Justin lived up to his reputation. Just call him Tom Sawyer. Even though HE "owed" me a yard raking, he gathered up his friends and they made short work of the yard. "Do they know they are doing this for free?" I usually ask . . . . . because this always happens with him. His friends come to the rescue and save the day for him.

Well, on Friday, just as many leaves had RE-fallen, and I, friendless as I am, raked the yard all by myself! Really I used the handy-dandy leaf blower. I really do love yard work, but I forget how much I love it in between the long stretches of no-yard work that I do!!

On Saturday we bagged the leaves. 53 bags of them . . . . and I say there is still 53 more leaves still hanging in the trees. At least . . . . . . . . . . Lincoln and I have a bet on this . . . . . . he says less . . . . . .I say more. I know we get much over 100 bags each year. What makes this one different???

Acorns abound . . . . I can't believe how many of them there are! As we were bagging the leaves (and acorns) we wondered if we should save some for the squirrels. Squirrels be danged, I say! There is no way the squirrels are starving this winter. They much prefer eating our garbage anyhow.
Here's a partial picture of what's left . . . . . . what do you think?

Benefit of a Doubt

When I choose a book to read I give it 50 pages and if it doesn't "hook" me, I usually put it down and don't waste my time.

Now I have a dilemma . . . . . Book club. My book pick . . . . The Scarlet Pimpernel. I'm on page 50 and it hasn't hooked me yet. Since it IS the book club book, and since it IS my pick, I'll continue on and hope for more. I keep hearing good reviews about it . . . . . I guess I'll have to give it the benefit of a doubt!

Extra! Extra!

Good News! I got a call last night from son#1 last night. After only 3 days of being in Salt Lake he has found a full-time job!! and the pay isn't too shabby either! Double blessing!! So he and son #2 both will be working for the same company in the same building. The downside is that the jobs don't start until the end of the month . . . . but may I say . . . . HALLELUJAH!!!!

State of Confusion

Yay! We are finally in our Master bedroom again. I just haven't had time to make the change complete. Poor Lincoln . . . . today his shaving stuff was in the bathroom he used to use (not the master bathroom) his clothes and shoes in another room. He kept going from room to room to room in order to get ready for work today! I haven't had a chance to get everything straightened out and in one place yet . . . . . .Our room looks so nice without much in it that I am hesitating moving all our stuff into it. Hopefully it'll all fit and look nice!

It took me only 1 day to debate whether or not to get a TV for our bedroom. I used to say that I would NO WAY, NO HOW, have a TV in our bedroom. WELL . . . . it is kind-of nice not to fall asleep on the family room couch. And it is nice to have Lincoln with me while I'm in bed reading and sooooo, my children will not believe that I did this . . . . . I went and got the TV of their dreams and they don't even live here anymore! I was trying to get rid of the "nerve center" feeling of our bedroom but I think that McKay will become a permanent fixture in our room now . . . . .which is a two-edged sword! Hey! move over buddy, that's OUR bed your taking over!