Nate Copier

29 years ago today. I received the best Christmas present a girl could ever receive….  My baby boy Nate was born.  It’s not something that someone usually does….. plan on having a baby this close to Christmas…..  but it happened and we’ve never regretted it.

I don’t know if they do it anymore….. but when we brought Nate home from the hospital….. they sent him home in a big Christmas stocking, just the right size to tuck a baby in!  He was my only child that actually decided to come before his due date.  Not by much…. but early still.  By the time Nate was born, hospitals were offering a financial incentive to only stay for 2 days.  Since the incentive was there and it was close to Christmas….. we decided to do just that and take Nate and I home after only 2 days in the hospital.

Unfortunately, I had a lot of things to do still to be ready for Christmas, so I didn’t get the bed rest I should have had after having a baby …. and I paid the consequences a few days later….. but we survived and were just happy to have all of our little family home together for our first Christmas as a complete family.

Nate has always been a good son.  Oh…. he went through his typical growing years, like all kids do…. but he has always been a good kid.  He was my most cuddly kid as a child.  Until he turned old enough to start passing the Sacrament at church…. he would still like laying his head on either my shoulder or his Dad’s shoulder during church.  Then suddenly…. wham!  Over night it changed!  But I suppose that’s to be expected.

It’s been a joy to watch him as he’s grown over the years.  All of my children are performers.  They love the stage.  I suppose they get that from me!  Nate has done a little more than the other two simply because he has loved it so much that he has auditioned and been involved in a lot of shows.

I remember when Nate got home from his mission.  He said he didn’t think he could ‘dance’ and perform anymore because he hadn’t done it for so long.  Before Nate’s mission, my friend and I directed a children’s’ performing group of which Nate was a part all 6 years we did it.  The kids in the group did choreography to the music they sang, so he had a little dance experience.  Nothing major….but experience in movement.  I just kind of giggle thinking back on his lack of confidence in himself when he got home.  He fell right back into it very easily.  His confidence has certainly changed over the years.

One of the many performing opportunities he’s had in performing has been to perform out at Lagoon…. an amusement park just north of where we live.  To have him perform there was kind of a full circle moment for me.  The group I sing with performed out at Lagoon for 7 seasons during the late 70’s and early 80’s….. so to have one of my own kids ‘follow’ in my footsteps and perform out there was very fun for me.

I am so proud of the fine young man Nate has become.  He is a very caring person and very fun loving.  We are so happy with the things he is doing with his life.

Our first family photo.

I’m so grateful to have such a fine son and feel so lucky to have 3 wonderful children.   I feel very blessed that I have what I would consider to be a close family.  And not just in age….. though, yes…. they are close in age…. but we get along very well and care for each other very much.  I’m so grateful for that.

Happy 29th Birthday Nate!  Thanks for being you and for continuing to bring joy into our lives!  We love you!

I am Grateful!  How are You?

Surprise!

I love surprises…… don’t you?  Especially when you are the giver of the surprise.

Tonight I got to participate in a fun surprise for my old Ward.  (For those who don’t know what a Ward is….. it’s the people I attended church with in the area I used to live).  One of my friends that still lives in that area was in charge of the entertainment for the Adult Ward Christmas Party.  She had already lined up a wonderful Bell Choir to come perform, but decided she wanted to add a little element of surprise.  So she called me and asked me if I would come sing Santa Baby in the middle of the Bell Choir’s performance.

We came early to set up a small sound system to try and avoid running into a lot of people before they came to the party.  Unfortunately, we did run into a few, so it wasn’t a complete surprise to everyone…. but I still think we had most of them stumped.  We stayed out of sight for most of the time, so that helped.

We set it up so that the Bell Choir would introduce a special number, and act like it was a number they were doing, and then I would come around the corner singing Santa Baby instead!

It worked out great.  The director of the Bell Choir played it very well.  She even had her choir members turn their bells so they wouldn’t make noise and act like they were starting a new song and instead my music came on from the back of the room and in I walked with my feather boa and cordless mic and headed straight for the Bishop.  He was one that had seen me there earlier and was probably suspicious that something was up…. I just don’t think he knew what!

My husband told me that as I started the song….. a few of the other men at the Bishop’s table got up and moved away from the table.  Ha ha ha……  it didn’t really matter, because my goal was to make it around the room as much as possible and play to as many men as I could in one song!

It was so much fun singing… and embarrassing for a moment….  some of my old friends and neighbors!  Too bad I couldn’t get to more of them!  If it hadn’t been such a big secret about me singing…. I could have scoped the room out before hand and seen where people were sitting that I knew.   There were a couple of people that I would have for sure gone to had I seen them!  But I still had a great time.  PLUS…. we got to eat the delicious dinner that was being served!  Now that’s a perk!

I’m grateful Denise gave me the opportunity to have fun with my old Ward tonight.  It’s so great to see people that you were neighbors with for over 20 years!  I adore and miss that ward and the people in it.  It’s always good to see them.  There are so many other neighbors in the area I would love to visit with again.  I was very blessed to have been able to raise my family during their most critical years in such a wonderful area.  I hope those that were there tonight enjoyed my surprise!

I am Grateful!  How are You?

Festival of Trees

Mom with a few board members for the Festival of Trees 2011

I hope you’ll indulge me today.  This could be a long post…. I hope you’ll bear with me.  This is a topic that’s dear to my heart.

Let me start off by saying that taking my Mom to the Festival of Trees today takes me back to many years ago when it all began.

My Mom was one of the original board members for the Festival of Trees back in 1970 when they first started.  I remember it well.  I was in high school when this new venture started as a fund raiser for Primary Children’s Hospital.  For those of you that don’t know what it is….  this is an event where people donate time and money to decorate a Christmas tree (and now many other things as well….) and then other people are invited to an evening of auctioning where they bid on the trees.  The highest bidder, of course, wins the tree (or other item).  All of the proceeds are donated to Primary Children’s Hospital.  The trees then go on display to the public for 4 days before the winning bidder is allowed to take his prize home.  A small fee is charged to the public to come look at the trees, which is an additional source of fund raising money for the cause.

The Festival has grown huge over the last 40 years.  It literally takes thousands of man hours and volunteers to pull it all off.  The current committee is run by several women, (I honestly don’t know how many anymore!) who then head other committees all over the valley that they are in charge of.  It pretty much takes the whole year to plan to make sure it all runs smoothly.

Back in 1970, when it first began, it started off rather small.  My Mom was one of the original board members of what she thinks was 13 women.  The first year it was held in one of the buildings of the Salt Lake Armory.  The next year it had gained in popularity and added more trees in the second Armory building.  Within the next few years, it had become so popular that it had to move to the Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake.  It was there for many years and just kept expanding into more of the convention center.  Each year there were more people wanting to donate something for the cause.  Several years ago, it moved to the South Towne Center in Sandy, Utah.  I think the committee felt that was a more central location for the people all over the state that want to come see it.  Also…. parking was free and little more convenient.

One of many trees today. See the elves stacking presents for one elf to stand on to put the a decoration on the top?

The gift shop and the sweet shop came early on and they continued to add other features over the years.  Now, besides trees, (of all sizes,) there are many more things donated for auction including,  table decorations, crafts, art, quilts, door wreaths, and ginger bread houses and more.  The creativity that goes into the auctioned items never ceases to amaze me.

My Mom was always in charge of the entertainment when she was on the committee.  It took a lot of hours to fill up those spots.  Especially in the early years when people were still just learning about it.  Even now…. the entertainment committee spends hours lining things up for the multiple stages to perform on.

It meant a lot to my Mom to be able to attend today and see what it has turned into over the years.  There is still one board member currently involved that started getting involved as a teenager years ago when my Mom was on the committee.  Sharon Goodrich has been instrumental in making sure that my Mom still receives her invitation to the opening Lights On ceremony.

Last year when I decided to have my Mom’s care center bring her in so that I could meet her there and take her around to see the trees, we made a point of finding Sharon to say Hi.  Sharon was so thrilled to have my Mom there that she had me bring her back into the area of the building where the board members have an area set up for them to continue on with all the work that needs to be done during the Festival.  Sharon gathered the board members around and introduced my Mom as one of the original board members and they made such a fuss over her!  They were so excited to meet her and thanked her profusely for being a part of getting such a wonderful cause started.  They gathered around her and we took pictures of her with them.

It meant so much to my Mom to feel appreciated and loved.  So much so that she wanted more of it this year……  she wouldn’t let us leave the Festival today until we found Sharon and the board members to say “Hi” again.  Once again, they made a fuss over her and took pictures with her.  It really made her day.  My husband mentioned how nice it was to see her face light up as she was talking with those wonderful women.

Next month my Mom turns 90 years old.  I told Sharon today that if she’s still around, that we would make an effort to try and get her into the Lights On ceremony next year.  Mom wants her kids and their spouses to all attend if we can.  My sisters and I all worked at the Festival of Trees as Hostesses for many years.  It would thrill Mom to death if we could all be there with her.

I’m so grateful to those wonderful women for fussing over Mom again like they did.  I’m so grateful that Mom was a part of the beginning of something so wonderful that has become a community favorite at Christmas time and raises a lot of money for Primary Children’s Hospital.

I’m glad Mom felt good enough to attend again this year and that it got her Christmas season off to a great start!  Thanks to all of you wonderful people who have kept the Festival of Trees going for over 40 years now!

I am Grateful!  How are You?

Below are some pictures from the Festival of Trees that I took today.  You name it….. they put it on a tree!  If you want ideas for how to decorate a Christmas tree….. you can’t find a better place!

 

Probably one of the most popular trees there today..... The "UP" tree

 

UP must be a popular theme this year! Here's a gingerbread house replica!

 

Here's one you might consider more traditional

 

 

Anything goes for color! Now this one is bright!

 

A huge fireplace wreath with a Penguin theme.... plenty of penguins to fill the room too!

 

An elegantly decorated tree with a music theme in tribute to an accomplished student who was tragically killed. And yes.... the Electric baby grand is part of the package!

 

More ginger bread houses.... so many to choose from!

 

Some even come with multiple trees per display!

 

This barely touches the iceberg of what was there today!  Try and get there if you can!!  It ends tomorrow, Dec 3rd.  If you can’t make ti this year……. there’s always next year!

 

 

A Good Quality Iron

Does anyone really iron anymore?  I mean….. there are always a few things that need to be pressed, or freshened up…. but for the most part…. I really don’t iron much.

I don’t know about you….. but I remember a day when you had to iron everything!  My Mom would spend hours ironing!  We even had one of those fancy manglers was we called them.  They were big service ironing boards that had a large heated surface that came down over the piece you were ironing and pressed it all at once.  Think of it as a very large panni maker without the ridges.  More like a George Foreman grill I guess….   We even ironed our sheets and pillow cases!  And boy, talk about crisp creases!

Having a mangler was no a common thing.  I think we were probably one of the few on our block that had one.  I actually enjoyed using them.  At least for a few minutes… and then it made the house hot and it wasn’t much fun after that!  But I do remember having to iron most of my things.  Actually everyone’s when it was my turn to iron.

Thank heavens for permanent press fabrics!  It makes life much easier!  I really don’t do much ironing, as I already mentioned.  But, when I do…. it’s so nice to have a good iron.

My children will attest to you that I haven’t had a very good iron until recently.  Working at Cheesecake Factory, like two of my kids were doing for a while, it meant a constant washing of white clothes and aprons. (Why they require them to wear all white is beyond me!  Pretty impossible to keep looking clean while you’re working!)  They always needed to be neatly pressed too.  They couldn’t just wash and wear.  They were constantly complaining about how my iron was…. well, we’ll just say, not very good.

I’ve always wanted a Rowenta iron.  I’ve wanted one for years.  As a seamstress, (which I don’t do very often anymore…) I always wanted a good iron because it makes a huge difference in how your projects turn out.  Rowenta is one of the best and highly recommended by seamstresses everywhere.  We finally broke down and bought one several months ago.  Since then, my son has not complained about the iron.

I haven’t had many reasons to use the iron since I got it.  The other day, as I was getting my table set for Thanksgiving, I realized my nice napkins had never been pressed after they were washed the last time.  I remember trying to press them last year for Thanksgiving….  It seemed it took forever to make them look halfway decent.

Well…. this year…. with my new Rowenta iron, they were pressed in no time and looked better than they ever had!  It literally only took a few minutes to have all 10 napkins neatly pressed.  It was wonderful!  I’m so grateful to finally have a good quality iron!  It almost makes me want to do a sewing project just so I can use it to neatly press open those seams!  The operative word there is ‘almost’.  I’m sure when I have grandkids around, I may want to sew a little more than I do now.

I’m thankful for permanent press fabrics that don’t require a lot of pressing…. but when I do need to iron…. I’m grateful to have a good quality iron!

I am Grateful!  How are You?

 

Seven Wonders of the World Movie

Today I’m grateful for inspirational videos.  There are many many many inspirational videos out there…. but one in particular hit me today.   This one is a Flickspire video.  They’ve been putting together some great stuff lately.  One of the newsletters that I get links to their stuff all the time.

You’ve probably heard the story that this video portrays.  It’s the story of the teacher that asks her young students to list what they think the 7 wonders of the world are.  Of course the list from the students starts with the usual things people think of….  The Great Wall of China, The Taj Mahal…. etc.

Taj Mahal.... considered one of the 'many' typical Seven Wonders of the World

But then, one student has a little more to say.  She feels like there are so many things, it was hard to choose…. but her list consists of the small things we seem to take for granted everyday.  Her list consists of:  To touch, to taste, to see, to hear, to feel, to laugh and to love.

I started thinking about those things and the fact that this IS a gratitude blog after all….. and I wondered if I had blogged about each of those things at least once.  I have blogged on several of them, but not all.

Isn’t it funny how sometimes the simple, obvious things we are blessed with are almost the first thing we overlook when we are thinking about what we are grateful for?

I really could take each one of these things and focus a whole blog post on it.  As mentioned…. I have done on a few of them.  But how about, to touch…. to feel.  Those could be so broad spectrum topics or even so small.  Similar in ways, yet not at all.  I’m reserving more comments about them for another post!  <grin>

I’m grateful for an inspirational video today that made me start remembering the little things I have forgotten to mention this year in my blog.  Since I only have about 6 weeks left to finish my original commitment…. I need to start paying more attention to those thing!

Thanks to Flickspire for bringing them to my attention in such a beautiful way!

I am Grateful!  How are You?

 

I couldn’t get the movie below to embed in my blog…. but here is the link to see the Flickspire movie I’ve been referring to:

 

“It’s so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle today that we naturally begin to take some of life’s most beautiful gifts for granted. I love watching this story unfold through the eyes of a child. It’s a reminder that our most priceless possessions were given to us free at birth.”

via Seven Wonders of the World Movie.

Recycle — Repurpose!

Obviously, as I’ve mentioned before…. I like new things.  New cars, new houses, new clothes….. etc.  BUT….. don’t be misled by me saying I like new things.  I’m not opposed to old things either!  (I can hear my hubby laughing as he reads this….)

Though there are many things that I would prefer to be new….. there are many other things that I like that have been recycled or repurposed.   There’s something to be said for some things old.  Though I don’t have any in my house….. I love antique furniture.  I enjoy seeing homes where people have tastefully worked that into their decor.

I like the eclectic look.  A mixed look…..  not a set style.  To me it gives you the freedom to use what you like.  If it speaks to you… it’s OK.  That’s what all the modern day decorators say too.   It seems the styles of home decor have changed over the years since I took my Interior Design class in college.  Back then…. it was still proper to decorate in a certain ‘style’.  You didn’t mix styles.  But now… it’s almost the norm to mix and blend styles.  I actually really like that.

Pretty sure I would have never come up with this idea.... but it's a pretty cool piece of wall art! Clever people!

Our parents parents were raised with the philosophy of “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”  That’s almost a foreign concept to many people today.  Of course…. I think it came about in a time when many things were scarce.  It was almost a necessity to learn to do without and to recycle.  Now a days it’s a choice for most people.  And not a bad one at that!

I love it when people repurpose things.  There’s so many examples of this…..  cutting up a piece of clothing and using the scraps for other things.  Taking a piece of furniture and painting it to give it new life and a new purpose.  Or, like my son’s girlfriend has been doing lately…. taking an old statue or figurine…. painting it a bright color and making it a new piece of art and conversation piece.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/EdwinsItems?ref=seller_info

There’s so many ways we can recycle things and make them useful again.  It certainly is helpful to our environment to do that.  However….. there’s nothing wrong with donating things you don’t want anymore and letting someone else get use out of it either!  Then they are doing their part to recycle.

I’m grateful for people who recycle and repurpose.  Some of them are extremely creative.  Every once and a while I get an urge to be creative with repurposing too!  But it’s not often!

I am Grateful!  How are You?

This post makes me want to get going on my recycled headboard idea I had years ago.  The head board is in the attic…. waiting to be repurposed into a bench.  I should do it in time for Thanksgiving!!!

Clever People

I just got through reading a book that said that if you want to make money….. you need to find a problem that people have and solve it.  If you can solve their problem….. people will pay money for it.  Today…..I met a woman that found a problem and solved it!  She’s now marketing her ‘answer’…. and it’s so clever!

I went to the What A Woman Wants show here in Salt Lake today.  Ending up going by myself because I actually stopped over at the Gem Faire first.  Since I had a free ticket…. I thought I’d check out the What A Woman Wants show.  They usually have some fun things there, so I thought I’d run in and do a quick walk through the displays.  I was on the second to last row, was very tired and was getting ready to head home when I found this booth called WOW.  I didn’t realize till I got home and looked her up on her website what the WOW stood for….  Wise Old Woman.  I just chuckled…. cause in this case….. she certainly is!!  She has invented a jewelry hanger that is very clever and will do wonders for helping woman to get their jewelry and accessories organized!

I have a very large jewelry armoire, two drawers in my dresser devoted to jewelry and the top of my dresser is still covered with jewelry holders and it still doesn’t seem to be enough!!  OK, OK…. I know….. that’s a little excessive on the jewelry side…. but let me tell you a couple of reasons why.  I LOVE JEWELRY!   Well…. I guess that’s obvious!  But really….. my Mom sold Sarah Coventry jewelry for years!  I believe Sarah Coventry was the original in home party jewelry business.  I may be wrong…. but it was certainly on the forefront!!  She has kept most of that jewelry, and I have inherited a large portion of it.  Mom doesn’t wear much jewelry any more….. she doesn’t get out much….. so I have a lot of it.  I don’t think my sisters were interested in that ‘old’ jewelry….. but me on the other hand…. I LOVE old jewelry!  In fact…. many of today’s jewelry designs lean toward the older antique look, just with a modern edge.  Kind of like clothes!!

Besides inheriting a lot of jewelry, my daughter was a Lia Sophia consultant for a short time.  Long enough that I acquired several pieces.  And then there’s that ‘I kind of like to make jewelry’ thing.  Particularly watchbands.  Are you getting the picture?  Yeah…… too much jewelry!  And much of it I don’t wear because I forget I have it!

This is the travel set. It has elastic across it to keep your necklaces in place and you can roll it up and tie it closed for travel.

This new invention….. the WOW jewelry hanger is a great way to organize and get it more in the open so it can be seen!  I’m so excited to see what it will do for me!  PLUS….. I love the idea of being able to use it to organize your jewelry while you travel!  Brilliant….. truly brilliant!

I’m grateful for Laurie Clayton…. the Wise Old Woman that came up with the idea!  I’m grateful that creative, clever people pursue trying to share their ideas with us!  I wish her much luck in her business endeavors!

Go check out her website.  You will love it and they will make great Christmas gifts for yourself or your friends!!!  Besides….. clever people who solve our problems deserve our support!

I am Grateful!  How are you?

Here’s the Youtube video

Cars/Vehicles

You know…. I’m sure there was something very charming about getting into a carriage pulled by a horse.  Doesn’t it look charming in the movies?  Of course…. part of the charm for me is the attire they wore back then.   I’ve always wanted to be in a show from that era so I could wear fabulous costumes…. (someday I will be!)   But actually…. I think I  would have hated it in the long run.  I mean….. who wants all those layers in 90 plus degree weather….???    But I digress…. this post is about vehicles…. not clothing.

As I was saying… I’m sure there was some charm to a horse and carriage….. I mean after all….. look at what Cinderella showed up in at the ball!  Who wouldn’t want to show up in a rig like that to the prom?  However…..  I think I’ll be content with our current day form of transportation.  I’ll take my car.  After all….. not only will I arrive at my destination MUCH

You can actually charter these things!

quicker than by horse and carriage…. but I’ll arrive cleaner, cooler (or warmer…. depending on the weather ) and much less fatigued!  Now that sounds much more like conditions that a real princess would want.  I mean really…… do you think Cinderella showed up without dust all over her?  (the roads were  NOT paved back then!)   And what was the temperature like that night?  Was it a ‘hot August night’?  Did she have an anti-presperant to put on?  How long was the drive….?  it could have been SO tiring!!  Let’s not even talk about the wind in her hair!   No super max hold hairspray!!!    Oh wait….. its a fairy tale… that’s right!  Of course she’ll show up perfect!  That’s what fairy tales are for!     So… . I guess I’ll have to just fantasize about arriving in a horse and carriage wearing a fabulous gown…. but I think I’ll settle for the fantasy and be very grateful that I can travel in a modern day car!

I mean….. look at what cars can be decked out with these days!  I’ll bet Cinderella had to rely on those mice knowing the way to the ball!    There was NO GPS system back then!  Isn’t that a marvelous feature to have?  Can’t tell you how many times that’s helped me find places that I would have completely gotten lost or it would have taken much longer to find!  How about heated seats?  I don’t personally have those in my car (my next one will….) but I’ve ridden in cars that have them…. and they are nice on a cold day!  Wow….. so many features that are available in today’s cars!  The list could go on and on.   I don’t have too many bells and whistles on my current vehicle…. but it’s a nice car that gets me where I need to go with ease and relative comfort.  So today…..I’m grateful for my car.  Even more grateful that I ‘own’ it and don’t have any car payments!  That is truly a blessing!

I am Grateful!  How are you?

Hello world!

Here I am!