I GOT TAGGED!

My daughter, Andrea, tagged me - - so here goes:

1) I always wanted to be taller - - not much - - just a little. When I was a teenager, bell-bottom pants were totally cool and in style. Well, during the Dark Ages, they hadn’t yet invented “petite” clothes so I had to shorten everything I bought. Well, you guessed it, when you totally shorten bell bottoms - - you lose the “bell” completely! Bummer!! When I met my sister-in-law, Carol, she confided in me that she always wanted to be a little shorter - - because she always had to “add on” fabric to her pants to make them a little longer. That made me feel a little better - - AND the fact that I never had to worry about dating a guy that was shorter than me! (I always thought that 5’2” to 5’4” would have been ideal!)

2) When I was younger, I loved horseback riding. I was born in Detroit and when we came to Arizona, there were some stables not far from my house. I was a little nervous the first time I went riding, but loved it. From age 11 to 15, most of my saved-up money went to horseback riding. I even got to know the owner of the stables and offered to work there on weekends so I could ride horses for free. A couple of my friends and I would clean out stalls, feed the horses, catch them and bridle and saddle them for others to ride, and brush them down after they were ridden to cool them down. An added plus was the fact that there were some really cute guys that worked there too. I even used to ride bareback and it definitely showed on the back of my cutoff levis - - I’d go home with stained pants and smelling like horses - - but I loved it. That’s where I met one of my very best friends, Sherry Lynch - - she adored horses too and rode whenever she could!

3) Sports - - believe it or not, I played Softball, Volleyball, and did Track during seventh and eighth grade. I liked Basketball too, but wasn’t much good at guarding because I was too short, but I was pretty good at making baskets. I played on my school’s team against other schools and we were pretty good! In high school, I got to be a pretty good Tennis player and was asked to go out for the team, but I was kind of self-conscious about a one on one sport and didn’t do it. I wish now that I had! I used to love Badminton and have always enjoyed Bowling.

4) I absolutely, positively hate flying. I was fortunate to have the greatest in-laws anyone could hope for and they died in a plane crash a year after Mike and I were married. It instilled in me the reality that plane crashes really DO happen! Losing them both together at one time really made me nervous about flying anywhere with my husband because I saw first-hand kids becoming orphans and I didn’t want that to happen to my children. We have flown together a few times and I have white-knuckled it the whole way. The absolute worst things about flying are the take-offs and landings - - I hate them. Even though it takes a lot longer to drive somewhere, I’d rather do that than fly!

5) I love old movies. They just don’t make movies nowadays like they used to. I love movies with Carey Grant, James Stewart, John Wayne, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Shirley Temple, Elvis Presley, and tons of other oldies. I also love movies like Gidget, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Old Yeller, Pollyanna, Parent Trap, An Affair to Remember, Sex and the Single Girl (with Natalie Wood), West Side Story, and the list goes on. I like comedies, dramas, movies about animals, war movies, chick flicks, adventure, you name it. I also like old TV shows like I Dream of Jeanie, Bewitched, Fantasy Island, Dark Shadows, McHale’s Navy, Mr. Ed, the original Mickey Mouse Club, American Bandstand, etc. And TODAY, I am hooked on Lifetime Movies. **And my daughters and I love shows like Grease, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Breakfast Club, etc., etc., etc.

6) I found out at a fairly early age that following a recipe when cooking is a very wise thing to do. Just because some things in the kitchen look alike does not mean that they are always interchangeable. My Mom was at work and I was going to surprise her by baking cookies. In the middle of putting my concoction together, I realized that I didn’t have any Baking Powder. Upon looking through the cupboard, I found Baking Soda. They both started with “baking” and were white and powdery - - so I guessed that one would probably substitute well for the other. Not so!!! Use what the recipe calls for or make darn sure what a respectable substitute would be - - don’t assume anything! The cookies were awful!!! I also found out that there are some really good mixes available that are super easy. AND when I do follow a recipe, I read it closely to make sure I’m using the right stuff.

7) I once had a disagreement with my husband and told him I’d rather walk home than get in the car with him. He said, “Fine.” The only problem with this situation was that we were in Scottsdale at the time and our home was in West Phoenix. All of us ladies know that our husbands will let us stew a little and walk a little and then they’ll come and pick us up - - right??? Well, all during my 14-mile walk home, I kept looking back waiting to see our car and my hubby coming to pick me up. Wrong! I just got a stiff neck from looking back and sore feet from walking. To top it off, I was wearing a new pair of shoes that gave me blisters right off the bat. So I took them off and walked a good part of the way barefoot. And, I had to walk through a construction zone where the cars were continuously throwing gravel on me. It took me fours to walk home and believe me, when I got there I was ready to kill my husband. He made me even angrier by saying he thought I had probably gotten a ride from a friend or somebody. I did learn one important lesson - - next time I get upset, I won’t be the one walking home!!

Boy, these were really hard to come up with. I don’t think I want to be tagged ever again

Sharing a Friend's Loss

Yesterday I attended the funeral of the granddaughter of a very good friend (Donna Wheeler) that I work with at the Arizona Temple. It was devastating for her. Her granddaughter (Brenna) was only 33 years old and was a beautiful person - - daughter, sister, cousin, granddaughter, wife, mother, stepmother, and friend to everyone who came in contact with her. What a loss and so young! There were heartfelt talks and touching and humorous memories shared by her aunt, her cousin, her sister, bishop and stake president - - aren't LDS funerals great! The music was beautiful with two solo musical numbers and a harp solo that was heavenly. They said she was beautiful, always smiling, witty, loved to laugh and make others laugh. Her husband, stepchildren, and little daughter (less than 2 years old) were all heartbroken - - yet buoyed up by the knowledge that they will all be reunited someday. How glad I am that I have the knowledge of the gospel in my life so I can know that death is just a temporary separation and not a "forever loss."

This was difficult to attend the funeral of a lovely girl the same age as my daughter, Andrea, and who shared the same birthday (August 10) of my daughter, Christy. To see and hear the great tributes by family members was awesome and made me think of my own family. The closing song of the services was "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again" - - the music and words are beautiful and have great meaning - - but I cannot sing it all the way through without sobbing. I am always reminded of other funerals I have attended where that same song was sung and memories come flooding back of other lost loved ones like my Mother and my Brother and others. It also makes me think of my children singing "Families Can Be Together Forever" at my Mom's funeral - - what a tear jerker that was!

Since I consider this Blog to be somewhat of a journal for me, I have to add at this time that life is very short and family and friends need to make the most of it in a loving and positive manner. Minor disagreements, differences of opinion, insecurities, jealousies, petty squabbles, and all misunderstandings (no matter how big or how little) must be forgiven and forgotten now once and for all - - because that's how Heavenly Father wants it!!