Fathers and Daughters

Colett and Wayne

Wayne and Amy

Lissie and Shon

What is it about fathers and their daughters? Fathers love and identify with their sons and are so proud to have a namesake and someone to hunt, camp and golf with. But...daughters have a way of coiling around their Daddy's little fingers. Our son Shon used to say that Wayne treated the girls differently and Wayne would say yes, I do. He didn't deny it. He didn't love them more then he did Shon, it's just that there is a soft spot where little (or big girls for that matter) are concerned and it can't be denied. When Shon had a little girl of his own, he finally got it. He is the same way with Lissie. She'll bat those big blue eyes at him and he will do anything for her. Fathers seem to buy the girls more things, and let's be honest, girls really do NEED more things. Fathers expect the boys to buck up when things are hard but get teary and want retribution for those that hurt his little girls. As Amy and I were shopping one day she said that Wayne doesn't deny me anything either. She asked if Wayne had ever said "no" to me if I really wanted something. I said yes, he must have at one time or another, but I couldn't think of a single time that he had. Is it just that I don't ask for much?? Or am I wrapped around his little finger too?

A Little Bit About Me

Colett tagged me from her blog so these are my answers to the 32 questions of getting to know me better.


1. Do you like Blue Cheese? Like it in a salad dressing but not by itself

2. Have you ever smoked? When I was about 5 yrs. old, I found a cigarette butt that was still lit. Some guy had dropped it when he was working on the electric meter or something. I tried it and wondered what the big deal was. EEWWW

3. Do you own a gun? No, no desire at all to have one.

4. What do you think of hot dogs? I Love them covered with relish and onions. Costco's are the best but no mustard thank you.

5. Favorite Christmas movie? "Scrooge" starring George C. Scott and It's a Wonderful Life

6. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Milk or orange juice every morning

7. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? Wedding ring

8. Favorite hobbies: Scrapbooking, reading, floral arranging, interior design, sewing, blogging

9. Do you have A.D.D.? No, I can get restless but can usually concentrate on what I'm doing for hours.

10. What's one trait you hate about yourself? I prefer not to "hate" anything but I don't like the fact that I can gain weight by sniffing food. I used to eat anything and never gain an ounce. Now, I have a pituitary tumor that makes it very hard to lose weight and then hard to keep weight off so it's a constant battle that I seem to be losing.

Personality trait: I am good natured. I feel it is a God given gift and not of my own making. I am easy going, happy and not too critical of anything except I can't stand mean people.

11. Middle Name? Loraine

12. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: I need to get off the computer, I am happy and Colett spelled her middle name wrong in her list on her blog

13. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water, milk and OJ

14. Current worry? My Dad's health

15. Current hate right now? Again, I don't hate... but I really dislike bugs/flies in my house.

16. Favorite place to be? Home, everything that I love is here!

17. How did you bring in the New Year? Big party at Ralph and Jackie Yarro's house.

18. Where would you like to go? Europe..I would love to tour Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Italy but have a fear of flying over oceans and mean people shooting me down over them.

19. What shirt are you wearing right now? A patriotic flag T shirt... and you can get own too for $2 at Walmart next year after the 4th of July.

20. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No, too slippery

21. Can you whistle? Well, I can make a whistle sound but can't whistle a song very well.

Favorite Color? Red all the way in any of it's variations

23. Would you be a pirate? No, I am afraid of the sea as I mentioned before, and they are mean people.

24. What songs do you sing in the shower? I sing all the time EXCEPT when I am in the shower...why is that??? I don't know.

25. Favorite girl's name? Colett... my daughter's name. I always said that I would name a daughter Colett if I ever had one and I did. I love Amy, the name of my other daughter and maybe Michelle or Heather or Rachel.

26. When is the last time you laughed? A few minutes ago at a silly Internet joke

27. Worst injury you've ever had? I fell a few years ago and broke my ankle (it was completely turned backwards) and also broke my knee badly at the same time. This was just a few weeks after I had had foot surgery so I was a mess for a year. OWWWW!!

28. Do you love where you live? Yes, the mountains are beautiful, we live in a great neighborhood and I'm close to my girls and their families.

29. What's your favorite book(s)? The Robe, The Hiding Place, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Scriptures, Secret Life of Bees, and lots more..too hard to choose

30. What is your favorite candy? Bing candy bars, dark chocolate with almonds, dark chocolate without almonds, M @ M's, dark chocolate truffles, snickers, cinnamon bears, red strawberry twizzlers, dots, almond joys, etc, etc. Colett was doomed from the start.

31. Favorite sports team? Don't follow team sports

32. What song do you want played at your funeral? Somewhere Over the Rainbow... cause that's where I plan to go.

39 Years

Time really does fly. Wayne and I have been married for 39 years. We decided to go to Salt Lake to see the University of Utah Fine arts museum and eat lunch for our anniversary. The exhibit was pretty amazing. There were paintings of Van Gogh, Matisse, Pisarro, Renoir, Monet, Picasso and many others. We learned about cubism, and although I'm not a lover of modern art, I now have a new appreciation for some of it. I do like impressionism and there were examples of that art form as well as western art, realism and sculpture. There was one statue that I could have sworn Wayne posed for. From the back, it looked just like his little behind, and that's one of the reasons I keep him around. I almost pinched it.

I was trying to take our picture at arm's length but kept cutting off part of our heads. A passer-by offered to help and clicked this picture

for us.

I thought this fountain was interesting. It's tucked between old, classic buildings but has a very modern feel. Water splashes down from the upper steps into the pool below. It actually looks like something that should be in the cage of the polar bear at the zoo.

Architectural details are my favorite thing to look for on old buildings. This lion is great. It is one of many around the perimeter of the Joseph Smith Memorial building.

The flower gardens are just amazing. I have noticed that zinnias, which seemed to be out of favor for a while are coming back into style. These old fashioned flowers really give a pop of color. I am adding them to my yard next year.

Who doesn't love water falls? The water from this one just falls from the pool and recirculates. It's very hypnotic.

One of the statues and flowers gardens on the grounds of Temple Square.

This painting is amazing and since you are allowed to take pictures if your flash is off, I tried to capture the real colors but...woops...my flash went off. I would think I had it off so I would take a picture and it would flash again. After about the 5th time, security came running up from the security room and pretty much cussed me out. I asked her if she knew how to turn it off. She tried but couldn't get it off and then a lady standing next to me showed me how so I took another picture and it flashed again. The rest of the time we were there, the security officer followed us around.

This is a lovely still life at the art museum. I have a little bit of a perfectionist personality though and it bugs me that the glass and the pitcher are leaning to the left. I couldn't hang it in my house because of this. That and the fact that it's not for sale and even if it was I couldn't afford it.

I can't remember for sure but I think this bust was carved around 2000 B.C.

The deceased is depicted on this sarcophagus, or coffin, at the moment of his entrance into eternal life. He is the highly individualized central figure carved inside a ring shape, as if he were immortalized on a coin. The scroll in the deceased's left hand suggests that he was a scholar, and two theater masks below imply an interest in the arts. The four amorini (cupids), one pair winged and one not, represent the Four Seasons and thus the inevitable passage of time. The peacocks feeding from baskets are symbolic for immortality because ancients believed that the peacocks' flesh never decayed. The symbols of this sarcophagus are similar to those on a coffin in the Villa Doria-Pamphili in Rome made between A.D. 260 and 280

These vessels were formed about 1200 years before Christ. It's hard to wrap my mind around that. I felt like I should whisper out of respect.

I'm a Winner

I was thinking about the times that I have won things in my life. I really have won quite a few things, although never anything of great value. I'm still waiting for that. I just know that any day the Publisher's Clearing House will show up on my doorstop and bring me my millions. Well, maybe not because I guess you have to sign up and I don't, and I also guess I won't win the lottery because I have never bought tickets. I won a silver and stone ring from a Powell, Wyoming fair a few years back, and a Halloween figurine from a boutique in Billings, MT. I won 97 dollars from a radio station in Boise along with wall plaques, a stuffed dog and several other things that I can't remember now. I have won several door prizes and prizes at baby showers and I won a Monty Dollack picture from the hotel where I used to work. I was lucky

the past two weeks also and these are my newest winnings.

This is the scrapbook that I won last week at a paper warehouse. They drew my name from the proverbial hat for this one. Very cute. It was already assembled and ready for my photos.

My second winning item are these oatmeal/craisin/white chocolate oatmeal cookies

and a bag of mocha almonds.

I won these cookies from Sweet Life in the Valley Blog Utah Valley Provo Orem Blog a couple of weeks ago from a random draw. They were some of the best oatmeal cookies I have ever eaten. They were from the website Sweet Tooth Fairy~sweet wishes granted daily

website and Megan, the owner, delivered them to me along with a bag of almonds. They were packaged in a darling bag with pink and brown stripes, polka dotted tissue paper and a brown silk ribbon. Inside was a brown and pink striped box with lid that was even cuter. I am really a sucker for great packaging and it was soooo cute I almost didn't want to open it. Each cookie was enormous and individually wrapped. I did end up sharing with Wayne and my sister Margaret but if I had to do to again.... maybe, just maybe...... I would hide them and sneak and eat them when no one else was around so I could have them all to myself just like I did when my kids were little and wanted everything I had. Yes children, I did do that and still do on occasion if I have an incredible dark chocolate bar. Maybe there was good Karma at my house because when my daughter-in-law Kee was here for a scrapbook convention last week, she had her name called three separate times in one day for 3 really nice prizes. Yea for us ...the winners!

My Man

There is this man I have known for 42 years and have been married to for 39 years today. He is my best friend. I know that term is used a lot and can sometimes sounds trite , but in my case it is true. We like the same music, art, design and activities with one exception ( I don't watch sports on TV). He treats me like a queen 95% of the time.....well he's not perfect.... but I'm working on the other 5%. He never ceases to amaze me with his talents, hard work, and his willingness to give, give, give. Happy Anniversary Wayne. This is supposed to be a lucky day 8-8-08. It already is because I have you.