What are the odds?

I won the centerpiece at the Enterprise Mentors International (EMI) dinner last Friday night. Again. Lucky, huh? Score!
It's made of real flowers and plants and it's beautiful. It's a great addition to my dining room table. My friends Colleen and Kathleen and I got to attend the annual Mentors International annual gala at the SLC Marriott. Once again, it was a wonderful evening. Inspiring. Uplifting. Motivational. AND, I got to go with two dear friends and enjoy their company. Plus I got to see some other friends there including Courtney's sister Jen and her husband Dave.
The entertainment wasn't bad either. See this article.



Wow, what a great young man. His mother has a beautiful voice and they were absolutely darling together. They both sang and danced and David sang a couple of numbers in Spanish. It was a night to remember. PLUS, I totally and completely endorse and support what Mentors International is all about. Their goals, their success and the difference they are making in the world with micro loans to those who are so desperately in need of a hand up out of poverty. I wish they were helping in Mongolia. Maybe someday. It's a cause I really believe in as mentioned here and here.

Christmas concert planning

It's that time of year again. It's two months away from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert. And it's also time to request your free tickets. Here is the link to go online and send in a request. You've got until October 18 to get it done. I've sent in a request for the last several years and I've been shut out each year. Nada.
I'm wondering if it makes any difference if you live out of state on your chances of getting some tickets. Do any of you out-of-staters want to request tickets and then pass them along to us if you can't make it to Utah for the concert? It's a thought.
Anyway, this year the guest is this fine young man.


The concerts will be presented on Thursday, December 16, 2010, 8:00 p.m. (dress rehearsal) and Friday and Saturday, December 17–18, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, December 19, 2010, the choir’s weekly Music and the Spoken Word broadcast will also feature Archuleta with a mini-concert immediately following. All the concerts will be held in the Conference Center.

August 9 to October 4

8 weeks. That's how long it took to get our house remodel done. Considering all that was accomplished, that wasn't such a long time. Considering how hard it was to live (survive really) in the house while it was being done, it was a very long time. But the results are great. We've very happy with the way everything turned out. I'm actually excited to cook again. Frozen foods, fast foods and eating out gets old with time.
The remodel has consumed every waking moment of my time, energy, organizational skills and patience to get through the project. It's consumed all of Rick and Andy's patience as well. I've enjoyed it though. I've enjoyed working with the skilled workers and organizing the sequence of projects. I've enjoyed picking everything out. I've enjoyed taking every thing out of our house and then putting about half of it back. I've been working for the last two weeks just cleaning and getting everything put back in place. I'll admit that I'm putting a bunch of stuff in the office that I need to go through later when I have more time, but that will be my winter project. Downsize. Toss. Give away. Sell. It feels great.
Here's a sneak peak. More photos to come later. RIP Dave's bedroom.

I haven't been able to blog very much since we started this project, but I've got some good stuff to share. Stay tuned.

Never say never

I said we would never let a puppy in the house. I may have to reconsider that statement and allow this little puppy named Skippy to come and visit!

Enduring to the end