Married 60 years...WOW!

This is the month to think about love and marriage.
My in-laws celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary a few weeks ago. Just think of it...60 years of marriage. They are to be congratulated. Few people get to that point. Divorce and/or death usually take a toll long before a couple can reach that milestone. The neighbors and ward members in their area sponsored an open house at the church. Hundreds of people came to wish them well. All of their living brothers and sisters came and many nieces, nephews and friends. We thought it was a wonderful recognition that their ward members wanted to do for them, since they have lived in the same neighborhood for over 30 years. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves and got to see some people they haven't seen in years.
We appreciate their great example, their good humor, their love and support of one another and their history together that spans decades. What a wonderful legacy they have created for their posterity.

Congratulations to Pat and Vern!

Serious Grandma Vonnie time

There's nothing like a mid-winter visit to see a little grand girl and her parents to pick up my spirits in late January. We had some serious fun and did some things that are really interesting to a two year old.
Such as...
Going to church and to nursery class.
Playing at the "Playland" in town

Enjoying a serious game of SORRY - she almost won.
Playing outside in her little house
Wearing crazy hats

Going to the park and being very brave to cross the scary bridge

Playing Legos and building lots of houses, and laughing out loud while watching Curious George
Going down the slide all alone
Riding her big girl bike and playing on the teeter-totter
I got to tend Skippy one whole day while her parents were working and we had a great time. When I left she said "I go wif you Grandma Vonnie?" and when I said "not this time honey" and got out of the car at the airport, she started to cry. It made me sad (but kind of happy) that she will miss me. We all had such a wonderful 4 days and I can't wait to see her again. Her parents are OK too (although I didn't take one picture of them...oops)

9 minutes 19 seconds that could change your life

From white to black

After 17 years of almost daily use, these hardworking appliances decided it was time to call it quits. The oven in particular gave up the ghost and would shut off midway through baking time. This became particularly bothersome at Thanksgiving while trying to roast the turkey. A repairman determined that the needed part was no longer available, so what else could we do but move on? Bye, Bye whities.




Hello blackies! Welcome to these new shiny beauties. Because I have black rugs and other black accents in the room, I decided to skip stainless and go with black. I know I'm going to LOVE the ceramic solid top range. I hope they serve us as well as the old white appliances did.

Weight Management II

OK, so I've been kind of busy lately since the first of the year. I had oral surgery. I changed jobs and I'll be starting the new job on Wednesday. We got a new oven and microwave. I started a health and fitness program with a coach. We went to 3 new movies. I've started organizing our files and going through closets. I went through CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) training in December and I'm going to start working with a 16 year old girl this week and see if I can advocate for her and hopefully help her improve her life. And the best of all - I'm going to visit Skippy and her parents on Saturday for a few days.

I haven't had a lot of time to blog.
BUT
I did read two very good articles about fitness and weight management that I wanted to share.
One in the Reader's Digest and the other is in Good Housekeeping. Check out the GH article here and take a look at these good tips from RD.

1. Pound protein in the a.m.
2. pump up your potassium
3. Stand up and count to 60
4. Early to bed, early to eat
5. Worship morning sun, seek refuge in the afternoon
6. Take a walk for better (and better) memory
7. Beware of diet candy
8. Get results with the 20-second rule
9. Hit the Yoga mat to relieve pain
10. Pick up some sleep shades
11. To feel better, imagine the worst
12. For a good night's rest, keep the room cool
13. Focus less on the kids, more on your spouse
14. Rev up with the spice of life (red chili peppers)
15. Kick off your day with a square of dark chocolate
16. Eat more quinoa
17. Snack on real energy foods
18. Switch to grass-fed beef
19. To boost esteem, get into your friends
20. Be nice to yourself