Traditions....anyone?

Last night we watched home movies....well, more like home "movie" singular because youngest child (who isn't so young anymore now that she's 18) can't get enough of herself. For the umpteenth time we watched "The year of My Birth" narrated off camera by said daughter.

It was a happy/sad moment for me to see her as a tiny baby and realize that those days are gone....forever.....not that I won't ever hold a baby again, I do have two of the most adorable grandchildren on the planet and more to come i hope....no, it's because no matter what I do I won't have MY babies to hold. I wish I could go back and do it all over again....with all of the knowledge that I have now at the tender age of 54....it would be so much more fun the second time.

It was fun to see all of the traditions included in that one two hour DVD though. I feel like we have lots of things that are so meaningful to us simply because we've always done them. I'm going to give you a sampe of some of our fall traditions to get you started and then I hope you share your special traditions with me!

1) Carving fantastically intricate pumpkins one for each of us....this tradition includes it's own embedded traditions .... saving all the seeds for roasting, lighting all the pumpkins, lining them up on the counter with "ourselves" behind them and getting a great picture in the dark, and of course emergency repair techniques that we are sure we invented such as toothpicks hold broken jack-o-lantern teeth in place perfectly (at least for the picture!)

2) A gratitude journal hanging around the house for the month of November...just a place to jot down things you are thankful for all month leading up to Thanksgiving.

3) Overdecorating for Halloween, and fall....it was really fun when the girls were still all at home. They came up with some gruesome stuff for girls.....like the headless barbie body covered in ketchup and dangling from the mouth of the bear rug....haha good times!

Living with Lindsay: Librarians, Please Avert Your Eyes

There simply are no words but this is BEAUTIFUL! What a great gift for friends who read...unless they'd be horrified by book destruction! : )

Living with Lindsay: Librarians, Please Avert Your Eyes

A Year of Slow Cooking: CrockPot 5 Layer Brownie Recipe

I found this site....admittedly long after a million other people did and when I saw the picture for this first recipe I knew I had to read every single one of her 365 days of crockpot cooking....check it out....mmmmmm A Year of Slow Cooking: CrockPot 5 Layer Brownie Recipe

"J" is for January...and Organization......ummm ok so it isn't really for Organization...

January seems to be the month when everyone, I mean EVERYONE is thinking...I need to clear out some stuff. (Probably due to that massive chore of putting away all those Christmas decorations!) At any rate there are lots and lots of magazine articles to read through (of course then you have piles of magazines!) and much clutterbusting to be done.

Yesterday I stumbled upon a great idea....why didn't I think of this before? When putting away your sheet sets after washing...simply fold them then put the whole pile (including ONE pillowcase) inside one of the pillowcases...voila! Instant organization in your cabinet, you don't have to worry about stacks of sheets falling over OR the pillowcases getting separated from the sheet set....

Oh you're welcome!!!

What a great idea!!!

Have you ever wondered how to keep a record of the "little" things you do each day without it becoming a chore...? Well, I can't take credit for the idea but it was brilliant!!! I saw it in a magazine and I'll give credit to the family who submitted it....

"Hi, Nonas Family of Glen Rock, New Jersey! Thanks for the great idea!!!"

They've taken a stack (say 365) of 4x6 blank index cards and a cute little box to store them in like this:

Then each night at the dinner table they take on card date it and write something interesting,funny,remarkable, etc. ....something short and sweet .... What makes this really special is that they write on the same cards each year....for instance they'll write this year's Valentine's Day entry on last year's February 14 card....when that card is full they just add another and file it right behind or in front of the original. This makes it easy to read old memories ...

I suppose you don't have to do it at dinnertime, it just happens that this family found that was when they were all together and it provided good dinner conversation coming up with something to write for the day.

I Great Ideas!!!

Thougts on 2009

My Thoughts On The Last Year


1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? Rode in an ambulance with me as the patient!
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I really don't make resolutions but I do pick things to work on...I said I would try to 1) call my parents more...I have; 2)make amends with my sisters...um, I sort of have, 3) be more positive in the things I say...not so much complaining....well, lets just say some days are better than others!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? YES! Patti (my oldest "baby") brought sweet little Evalyn Brodi into the world on July 13 as a present for Lila : ) We all love her!

4. Did anyone close to you die? A lot of wonderful people from my ward...Neomi, Janie, Pansy and of course Bro Leslie who we will miss so very much.


5. What countries did you visit? Costa Rica for our 25th anniversary...it was great!

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
A Left knee that works perfectly, a larger,very faithful seminary class, a hobby that I really enjoy and have time for.
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? July 13 Evalyn was born, December 9 Stewart and I took a wonderful vacation together just the two of us, April something....Hannah graduated from college.

8. What was your biggest personal achievement of the year? .....ummmm can't even think of one thing! Better make that a priority for next year!


9. What was your biggest failure? Calling it quits on TSI...I'm just too old to help Stewart do really hard physical labor....

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? December 26...fell on ice and totally wrecked my knee (MCL) resulting in missed shopping trip that day and weeks of no driving, no fun, no patience and plenty of pain and expense.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Oh good grief....probably the water softener : )


12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Afton and Stewart....they have been my faithful minions during the weeks of recuperation.....I am SO grateful to them....
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? My own on several occasions!
14. Where did most of your money go? Gas, Insurance, Taxes and Medical expenses....well, then there were two trips to Disneyworld and one to Costa Rica : )

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Getting a new granddaughter....Getting Skype....celebrating 25 years of marriage....having Hannah home with us for awhile.....getting Patti to bring herself and the girls to our house....I loved showing snow to Lila!

16. What song will always remind you of 2009? Where Do We Go .... Sandrine (from the movie Last Chance Harvey)
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? 
b) thinner or fatter? 
c) richer or poorer?
a) Sadder....I can't walk
b) Fatter. enough said.
c.) Richer.


19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Falling

20. Did you fall in love in 2009? at least a few times...always with the same man : )

21. What was your favorite TV program? Survivor, Deadliest Catch, reruns of the first season of Newhart


22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I cant think of anyone that I hate.
3. What was the best book you read? The Uglies,Pretties, Specials and Extras, Edgar Sawtelle, The Geurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Little Stranger, The Book Of Mormon


24. What was your greatest musical discovery? Sandrine


26. What did you want and not get? out of debt

27. What was your favorite film of this year? Julie and Julia

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Nothing special...I turned 53.

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Paying off some bills.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? Hoodies, T Shirts and anything large enough to hide the epanding waistline of a midlife menopausal woman....btw there really is nothing that does that : )

31. What kept you sane? Reading good books, talking almost daily with one daughter or another, exercise, being healthy and feeling gratitude for all those things.
32. When you think about 2009, what sticks out in your mind? My children and how proud I am of them, the blessing of family, how great it is to be a grandma, the joy of working for yourself.

33. Best moment of 2009? Riding a zipline through a rainforest...., holding a new granddaughter, sitting in church with my husband and children and grandchildren, there are so many....