40th Birthday!

I had a great birthday! It wasn't a wildly exciting day--took LargeBoy to an Order of the Arrow Lodge Meeting, took SmallDaughter and the Wonderdog with us to Walmart, got to talk to all the dog lovers who need to tell the person who has their dog with them in the store all about their dog(s), and all about the amazing things they can train dogs to do now (which always happens when I go out with SD & the WD!).

We came home and I fixed a big pot of Corn and Bacon Chowder, and then a few friends came over for a cutthroat game of Michigan Bankroll. I think this is a game that has evolved within our family confines (it is similar to Skip-bo, with increasingly difficult rounds of sets and runs,but sneakier rules!). I had a stellar opening, and then lost, but not horribly!

My dear Aunt A made two pans of her amazing brownies (one with nuts, one without) and a batch of homemade caramel nut frosting (like you put on German Chocolate cake) for them. HEAVEN!

Life List

For my birthday, I decided to make a Life List.
I looked at a lot of other peoples lists, which is almost as fun as going to Real Estate showings ("really, they chose that?!! I would never choose that!" or "OOH, I LOVE what they did with that!"). I recommend it.

Some of the things I have already done. Some require lots of repetition. Some I may never do. I am fairly certain this list will not stay at 100 items. My life is like that!



1. Skinny dip at under a full moon. (Note to self—Labor Day in Idaho is TOO DANG COLD.)
2. Get a spinning wheel, learn to spin wool into yarn. (Got the wheel, still working on the spinning).
3. Learn to knit.
4. Knit a “naked girl length” (just to the tips of my fingers, like when a short girl wears her husbands shirt) pure wool Aran sweater-—for myself.
5. Go to an outdoor Bazaar in Turkey. (Note to self, while there, go to Pamukkale the “Cotton Castle”)
7. Eat food from street vendors Ongoing!
8. Get a stamp in my passport. 04/2004 (Note to self: This was awesome—do it MORE!)
9. Touch something 1000 years old. 04/2004
10. Drive across the US by myself. 09/2008 (well, I was the only driver, I had lots of small children with me).
11. Learn how to change a tire. (I can do it, but prefer not to.)
12. Learn how to change the oil. (ditto.)
13. Make a Kentucky Derby hat. I wouldn't mind going to the race, either, but mostly I just want to make the hat--so let me know if you are planning to go, and need headwear, ok?
14. Sew a Wedding Dress. (I have sewn at least 3 at this point)
15. Fluently speak another language. 1993--Spanish
16. Visit Manhattan, Eat pizza in NYC, ride the subway. 01/2012
17. Watch the Manti Pageant 1998
18. Watch the Nauvoo Pageant.
19. Watch the Hill Cumorah Pageant.
20. Visit 50 Temples. (19 as of 2012)
21. Write a novel. Get it published. (In progress. Darn typing!)
22. Notice the beauty in every day.
23. Write my will.
24. Donate my body to science. 2011 (Case Western Reserve Medical School).
25. Cross the Canadian Border. (Done, but I can't remember the year!)
26. Face my deepest fears. (Went Rappeling--both down a cliff and free fall, went caving. Don’t ask me about crickets.)
27. Have a mug of the best hot chocolate in the world at Angelina’s in Paris.
28. See the Pieta, and the Bernini sculpture of Daphne and Apollo in Rome.
29. Have an exceptional time in Greece.
30. Lay on the beach at sunset.
31. Wade in the Atlantic and the Pacific. Done, but enjoyed it so much, I would be more than happy to continue!
32. Get married in the Temple. 09/1995
33. Sleep out under the stars. (In the most beautiful place, with the least light pollution, and the most, close stars--aah).
34. Learn how to make French Onion Soup. MY 2010

35. Hand Letter a wedding Invitation. 1999
36. Go to the Public Baths in Budapest.
37. Throw really good parties.
38. Visit every US state – 35/50. Driving through counts. Only seeing the airport doesn’t.
39. Participate in a reenactment.
40. Give a speech.
41. Teach a class. 2010, and it was great, hope to do more!
42. Become a Grief Therapist.
43. Get my Bachelors Degree. (note to self, figure out what you want to be when you grow up).
44. Spend a whole day cruising the shops in the Garment District in New York.
45. See the Statue of Liberty, Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson Monuments. 2003
46. See the Grand Canyon. 1994
47. Go to Mesa Verde. 1992
48. Decorate my children’s weddings—awesomely!
49. Go to the Jane Austen costume Museum in Bath.04/2004
50. Choose and cut our own Christmas Tree. Yay--this has become a yearly tradition since 2001
51. Stand inside the Taj Mahal.
52. Host a wedding in my yard.
53. Give each of the people I love a perfect gift. (Ongoing--so far, my sister Alison is the easiest!).
54. Have beautiful art in my home.
55. Make my home a peaceful reflection of myself and my family.
56. Get married in my mother’s wedding dress. 09/1995
57. Learn how to use power tools. Ongoing--I love it, and want to improve!
58. Own 50 Library Cards. (21 as of 2012)
59. Be in better shape at 50 than I was at 30.
60. Read 100 Classic books...Hmmm it is interesting to try and find a list. There are several. Some of the "classics" I really hate, so do I include those or not? Also, some are just included because they are in the public domain, and are cheap to get access to. I am working on my own list.
61. Make a list of 50 favorite foods.
62. Start an annual event. 2001, established a quarterly blood drive in my Mother's honor--it is ongoing.
63. Visit the Holy Land.
64. Get a real year’s supply.
65. Start a Gratitude Journal.
66. Do a life changing project for people in another part of the world.
67. Take the sleeper train through Europe
68. Make a baked brie and roasted garlic.
69. Be completely debt free.
70. Attend a Broadway Show.
71. Attend a Seder.
72. Get my home beautifully decorated enough to be in the Christmas parade of homes.
73. Have a ladies-only tea party in the garden where we all wear dresses and eat edible flowers on our food. (It was great! Sometime around 1990, but I would love to do it again!)
74. Attend an opera. Cossi Fan Tutti, 1992
75. Go to Prince Edward Island.
76. Go to a Renaissance Faire. 2011
77. See at least one Shakespeare play at a Shakespeare festival (ideally, in Stratford Ontario). Visit the costume department, if possible.
78. Go to Muskoka, and see the islands (and if you haven't read The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery, get off the computer, and go do it right now!).
79. Ride in a Hot Air Balloon.
80. Take a Yoga class.
81. Ride on an Elephants back.
82. Become a Servas Host family.
83. Cook a meal entirely made of food I raised.
84. Visit the US Capitol and/or the White House.
85. Paint in Italy.
86. Send a message in a bottle.
87. Eat fish & Chips from a takeaway in London. 2004--YUMMY!
88. Write a poem. Ongoing.
89. Set someone else’s poem to music. (done--"Indwelling, by George Herbert)
90. Read in a French café.
91. Learn to play boogie-woogie and ragtime on the piano.
92. Have a beautiful guest room.
93. Be someone’s mentor.

Busy, busy, busy...

There is a reason I have been so silent. Actually, there have been lots of reasons.

Sewing some awesome Christmas gifts--including an original design for a fleece lined wrap around apron for my dear sister (the other person who suffers from an icy butt all winter long!), a matching set of capes for my 4 year old nephew and his bear, and cute jammies for some nieces. An actual knitted project for my dad (well- I cheated and used the knitting loom, but it was still a lot of work, and it did turn out quite beautifully, if I do say so myself!)

Then we had the fun of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Then, the day of playing games the next day. Then we had New Years Eve. Then--we went to New York City.

No, I have never been before.

Yes, our trip was awesome.

No, I can't get any of the pictures off the dang camera (yes, again, I KNOW!!)

Sorry.

I will keep trying.

Here is my Guest Post

Here is the post that I wrote for Heidi Poppins:


I have stopped listening to "The Christmas Station" on the radio. I used to love to turn it on in the background to help me get into a Christmas-sy mood--but now it just enrages me, so I leave it off.

There is a simple explanation (and no, it is not my hormones making me madder than David Banner on a bad day!). It is that some of the greatest music ever written is about the birth of the Christ Child--and very, very little of that great music is played on the radio. Instead, we are subjected to the worst twaddle of the twentieth century (and yes, I am referring to Wham's nausea inducing "classic" "Last Christmas" or the electronic saccharine of "Do They Know It's Christmas").

Apparently 1984 was the bottom of the barrel, song-wise--except that was the year that Mark Lowry wrote the words to "Mary Did You Know" (although it took another six years for someone to set it to music).

In this song, the author, Mark Lowry cites a laundry list of disabilities and sorrows that the Savior miraculously healed. Most of us know or have interacted with people who were blind, deaf, crippled or lamed in one way or another. When I was young I wondered if being "dumb" or mute still existed, because I had never met or even heard of someone who was mute. Very few people have.

Now I am the mother of one.

Partially the reason we don't hear about it is that the name has changed. Now it is called being "non-verbal"--which is actually more accurate. My daughter can not speak, but she is FAR from being the silent creature that the word "mute" implies, and, while she has neurological and developmental issues, no one who has ever met her would consider her "dumb". Also, it is statistically quite rare.

However, that doesn't change the fact that she doesn't speak. I have never heard her say "mama" or tell someone her name or how old she is. She can’t tell me where it hurts, or what she is thinking about. I would give anything to understand what is going on in her head, what she wants and how she feels.

Which is why listening to "Mary Did You Know" invariably reduces me to tears, especially when it is sung (perfectly) by Kathy Mattea.

This song is not only beautiful, reverent and thought provoking, but when she sings (at 2:07) that "the dumb will speak the praises of the Lamb" I am reminded that the true meaning of Christmas is the birth of Him who heals all sorrows, including my non-verbal child. I know that someday, my funny, loving, adorable daughter will look into her Savior’s face and "sing his praises".


So, instead of listening to the radio, I made myself a playlist on YouTube, so I can listen to the truly great music of the ages .

May you have a wonderful, joy filled Christmas--and may you be aware of the miracles that you take for granted every day.

I got to write a guest post!

I am really excited! I was asked to write a guest post for my friend Heidi over at Heidi Poppins. She is doing a Christmas post each day in December--and just like real life, some are memories(the beautiful kind as well as the funny ones!) some are traditions and some are new things to discover. Check them out each day!

True Learning

Our society has an extremely narrow view of what "learning" is, and where and how "learning" takes place. How much of the lessons you learned sitting in a classroom are a vital part of you, of the things you use everyday? How many of the things you learned in a non-classroom setting are a part of you?

I know quite a few people who learned to read before they started formal schooling, and then got in trouble with their teachers because they A) "weren't supposed to know how to do that yet" or B) were bored with the little sissy books they had to read, and read books that were "higher than their grade level".

I love the freedom to let my children learn to love learning. Wonderful books do not need to be classified by "grade level", "reading level" or other systems. I do feel that some books are too advanced or difficult for younger children ( from my own personal experience as an extremely precocious reader). That is one of the great benefits of reading 9and discussing together)the books your children read. The other blessing is being introduced to the amazing children's and young adult authors that are working right now.

In my opinion, there is FAR more creativity, cleverness and good writing happening in the "young adult" market than in the "adult" section. Check it out!

BigGirl is getting better. She mostly slept all day yesterday, but she was able to keep liquids down and eventually ate (and kept down) some saltines. While I am happy that she isn't contagious, and we won't have some horrible virus running through the house for Christmas, I REALLY wish we could find out what is going on that makes her body do this. It is not right for someone who is 5' 8" and 150 (skinny) pounds to lose 15 pounds in 3 days. It is really not right that it keeps reoccurring.