Vacation's coming!

We're off to Florida!!! Day after tomorrow! What does that mean? In general it means I'm excited to see "Nutella" and family (with a little side-trip to Disneyworld) but specifically it means......I'm a mess! I always feel overwhelmed just before vacation. It seems there are so many things to get done before I go. We hadn't even done our Visiting Teaching yet this month!!!

I NEVER pack till the day before, I just can't face it.....so I'll do that tomorrow (no sense changing my old annoying habits now, they've become like good friends!). So, today I cleaned the fridge, took care of the bills, deposited checks, caught up on office work and laundry. Tomorrow I'll clean the catbox (eeeewww!), pack for myself, make lists of what D3 should pack, stop the mail, clean the leaves off the pond, clean out the car, buy any last minute necessities, get my nails done and then I can panic!

I don't have the slightest idea why leaving affects me this way but I feel anxious most of the time. Once I'm on the plane the feeling leaves but till then ...Oh the nerves!

Last night for Family Home Evening we carved our pumpkins......kind of a theme thing in honor of visiting Disneyworld this week.....really this was totally unplanned but I think they turned out great...

Mickey (by HH), Cinderella (by D3) and Cinderella's Castle (by Moi!)

What's the gospel centered theme here you ask?

Well , let me tell you what our "treat" was.....Chocolate Lava Cakes.

Now can you guess?.....No?.............okay, here goes!

"Real Beauty comes from inside!"......huh? It is too gospel oriented!!! Okay, maybe not so much, but that's the best we could do......

It seems we've been so busy for weeks, lots to do but not much to show for it once you're done, if you know what I mean. It doesn't exactly bode well for the upcoming holidays. They seem to come on so quickly and there's so much going on that you barely have time to enjoy them. If there's ever a seminar given about how to get through the Holidays and actually enjoy every minute then I'm going to be the first one to sign up. There are so many things I love about the Thanksgiving and Christmas but that's generally the whole problem....so many things.....not enough time to do them all, let alone do them all in a meaningful way.

Nutella called this morning and they had record lows in Florida last night....the coldest night in 100 years or some such nonsense.....wouldn't you know, just when I'm hoping to go there for vacation the weather turns decidedly "Indiana-like". I don't care, I'm just going to pack my earmuffs and brace myself for the cold water at the end of Splash Mountain!

See you all soon.....Oh, and I may just have to write a "favorite things Wednesday" blog tomorrow since I won't be here on Thursday.....

Sure Love ya

You are what you think about......

One of the things I have done for the past few years is keep a small notebook with my scriptures. In it I write inspiration I receive as I read, thoughts I have as I listen to talks given in Sacrament Meeting or Confernce, favorite scriptures, and little "words of wisdom" I glean from hearing others. I have pages and pages of good things recorded in my little book....I thought I'd share a few of them with you.... (where I know the source I have included it, sometimes it is only my own thoughts recorded)

• 
  What matters most is what lasts longest.....the family. M. Russell Ballard
  A sincere apology never includes the word "but" as in.....I am so sorry, but...."
• 
  The Lord has blessings for us that we may not get because we do not ask. Elder Boyd K. Packer
• 
  Why do leaders of the church have so many opportunities in their lives where they experience the hand of the Lord? Because they look for it. High Councilman, Marion Ward
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  No message appears in scripture more times, in more ways, than "Ask and ye shall receive". Elder Boyd K. Packer
• 
  Happiness is like jam....you can't spread it evenly without getting a little on yourself." Kate Curran, speaker Marion Ward
• 
  If we teach our children how to observe a meaningful fast we will open up to them access to great spiritual power that they will need. Stake High Councilman, Jacksonville, Florida
• 
  Avoid the spirit and attitude of mockery and cynicism. Cease to find fault one with another. In a world beset by wrath we should not be a party to evil speaking of each other no matter the circumstances. Elder Robert S. Wood
• 
  Don't be bitter.....be better! John Bytheway
• 
  As you submit your will to the Lord you are giving him the only thing that is actually yours to give. Elder Neal A. Maxwell
• 
  There is no limit to the amount of good a man can accomplish if he doesn't care who gets credit for it. President David O. McKay
• 
  A beautiful woman has a glow of health, a warm personality, strength of character, love of learning, integrity, and the Spirit of the Lord. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
• 
  At the Chicago Temple the Temple President was asked how temple attendance could be increased or by what efforts it coud be accomplished. He replied "It cannot be done....the people will come or they will not, by their own desire. These are the last days -- the days of weeding out". After hearing his remarks my only thought was this... "Dear God, please bless me not to be a weed!"
• 
  "I Really Lived" by Sister Marjorie Hinckley... I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with gras stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really LIVED."

Integrity, where has it gone?

Oh I am in a baaaaad mood! We have been working on getting a "brick" (actually a paver stone) patio put in. It's been a lot of work. First we had to excavate through the lovely clay soil of Indiana to remove about 400 square feet 3" deep. That was back breaking, but nothing compared to shoveling, by hand, 5.5 tons of crushed stone into the hole (yup, filling it up again) . Once that was all done "all" we had to do was get a ton or so of sand and wait for the stones to be delivered on ............. oh, yeah..... last Tuesday.

They never arrived so I called at about 8:00 Tuesday night and they said the truck was still out making deliveries and we were scheduled for an evening delivery so they'd more than likely be here any time......no such luck.

SO yesterday bright and early, I called the store and the manager of the delivery department said the truck had broken down but it was being fixed and they'd "have those stones" out to us by nightfall.......surprise!.....no stones AGAIN.

Lucky man, got to talk to me again at 8:00 this morning, he said they'd been delivered....I asked him where (since I sure didn't see them in the driveway) and things just went downhill from there.....to make a long story short our stone is still sitting in the Garden Department at Lowe's an hour away from our house.....they've never even been loaded on the truck! No real explanation just, "hmmmm, I guess they're still here, we could "maybe" get them to you on Sunday afternoon if that would be convenient. "

Needless to say Sunday is not only "not convenient" it's also a week late and I want them NOW!!! On Tuesday it was beautiful weather, even yesterday it was in the 60's .....today it's 40 and they're predicting snow.

I'm just so frustrated. It seems that more often than not, when we hire a job to be done it goes like this, the workers show up....or not, the work gets done on time......or not, and there's nothing at all we can do about it. You wouldn't dare pay a contractor up front because you might well never see him again but since you haven't paid (or not more than a small deposit) they really don't care when, or whether, they get the work done.....I really feel like I'm at their mercy.

I try to be understanding but honestly if we ran our business like this we wouldn't be IN business. I just don't understand how anyone can even feel good about doing this to people. When we put in our fireplace they brought most of the supplies in August and the stone mason came out .... he said they'd be done in about two weeks with good weather. Well, the weather was beautiful but I didn't see him again until the middle of September and the fireplace didn't get finished until 2 days before Thanksgiving!

Okay, I'm done venting, I'm going to find something better to do with my time today than dwell on this.....hope your day is going well! : )

Sure Love Ya!

Sometimes you need a reminder....

I got a beautiful e-mail from a friend the other day and felt like it was something worth sharing....indulge me a little lazy blogging....just for today

The Blind Horse

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it.

From a distance, each looks like every other horse. But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing. Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him. This alone is amazing. If nearby and listening, you will hear the sound of a bell.

Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to her halter is a small bell. It lets her blind friend know where she is, so he can follow her.

As you stand and watch these two friends, you'll see how she is always checking on him, and that he will listen for her bell and then slowly walk to where she is, trusting that she will not lead him astray. When she returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, she stops occasionally and looks back, making sure her friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell. Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges.

He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need. Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others see.

Good friends are like this ......... You don't always see them, but you know they are always there

Please listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours.

Quoting a favorite song of mine......"have you done any good in the world today, have you helped anyone in need, have you cheered up the sad, or made someone feel glad....if not, you have failed in deed"