Country Music

Wayne and I were listening to the radio on a recent trip. We both like country music but were laughing at some of the titles and lyrics of some of the songs. The one that stood out that day was: The only hell my Mama ever raised was me! Clever!!

Here are some real Country Music song titles: Clever, stupid...or both, you decide.

All I Want From You (Is Away)

All the Guys that Turn Me On Turn Me Down

Are You Drinkin With Me Jesus?

At the Gas Station of Love, I Got the Self Service Pump

Billy Broke My Heart at Walgreens and I Cried All the Way to Sears

Don't Know Whether To Kill Myself Or Go Bowling

Drop Kick Me Jesus (Through The Goal Posts Of Life.)

Get Your Tongue Outta My Mouth 'Cause I'm Kissing You Goodbye

Her Only Bad Habit Is Me

Her Teeth Was Stained, But Her Heart Was Pure

How Can You Believe Me When I Say I Love You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life?

How Come Your Dog Don't Bite Nobody But Me?

I Been Roped And Thrown By Jesus In The Holy Ghost Corral

I Bought the Shoes that Just Walked Out on Me

I Can't Pass the Bar, and There's One on my Way Home

I Don't Know Whether To Kill Myself Or Go Bowling

I Flushed You From The Toilets Of My Heart.

I Gave Her My Heart And A Diamond And She Clubbed Me With A Spade

I Gave Her the Ring, and She Gave Me the Finger

I Got In At 2 With A 10 And Woke Up At 10 With A 2

I Sent Her Artificial Flowers For Her Artificial Love

I Still Miss You, Baby, But My Aim's Gettin' Better

I Want a Beer as Cold as My Ex-Wife's Heart

Went Back to My Fourth Wife for the Third Time and Gave Her a Second Chance to Make a First Class Fool Out of Me

I Would Have Wrote You A Letter, But I Couldn't Spell Yuck!

I Would Kiss You Through the Screendoor but It'd Strain Our Love

I'd Rather Hear A Fat Girl Fart Than A Pretty Boy Sing

If I Had a Nose Full of Nickels, I'd Sneeze Them All Atchoo!

If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me?

I'm The Only Hell Mama Ever Raised.

I've Got Red Eyes From Your White Lies And I'm Blue All The Time.

Mama Get The Hammer (There's A Fly On Papa's Head).

My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink, And I Don't Love Jesus.

My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend, And I Sure Do Miss Him

She Got The Gold Mine And I Got The Shaft.

She Got The Ring And I Got The Finger.

Thank God And Greyhound She's Gone

When You Wrapped My Lunch in a Road Map, I Knew You Meant Good-Bye

Wouldn't Take Her To A Dog Fight, Cause I'm Afraid She'd Win

You Can't Have Your Kate And Edith Too.

You Were Only A Splinter As I Slid Down The Bannister Of Life

You're The Reason Our Kids Are So Ugly.

Words of Thanksgiving

QUOTE: "May we never let the things we can't have, or don't have, or shouldn't have, spoil our enjoyment of the things we do have and can have. As we value our happiness let us not forget it, for one of the greatest lessons in life is learning to be happy without the things we cannot or should not have."

Richard L. Evans

Amen to that, and remember the words to this song:


When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?Count your many blessings; ev’ry doubt will fly, And you will be singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold. Count your many blessings; money cannot buy, Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.

So amid the conflict, whether great or small, Do not be discouraged; God is over all. Count your many blessings; angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Text: Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1856–1922

Wayne and I had been thinking of one day putting a niche in the wall opposite our bed but we had one of those giant TV's that would ONLY fit on the dresser in the corner. We were forced to make a decision however, because the big TV just quit working all of a sudden. No warning...just a click, click, click sound with no picture. We weren't really ready for it to die because we wanted to do research on the HDTV's first, but we did know we wanted a flat panel one to bring us into the 2000's. Well, fate tempted us into going ahead with our idea. This meant rewiring inside the wall, pulling in the TV cable, and building the niche. I must tell you that Wayne and I really do work well as a team and we have done lots of projects together and done them with few quarrels (with the exception of wallpaper hanging and that is another story entirely, and lets just say I did it all by myself after that.) Wayne is the designer, I pick the wood, we both paint, sand and spackle, he does the wiring, I am the critic who says it can be painted again and sanded again to make it look better. He is the one who roles his eyes, bites his lip and then goes ahead and does it. See that's real teamwork!

Here is the first step....cutting a hole in the wall. I always have to hold my breath a little while making sure it's exactly centered and at the correct height.

Here you see the electrical outlet and cable.

Wayne is using the nail punch and is ready to spackle.

It's painted, wired, and the cable is installed and ready for the installation.

And here is the final result. I don't have to turn on my side to watch TV any longer. I know it's not a big thing. It won't help hunger, it won't stop crime, it won't cure the common cold, but I am happy. It's the little things in life that make me just puurrr like a kitten. Now, on to sending food to the food bank, locking my doors and taking some vitamin C.

The Flowers

This is one of those gushy posts. You know the kind that makes you want to stick your finger down your throat and pretend to vomit. There is kind of a running joke that when women write on their blogs, they tend to skip over the problems and blemishes of what's real in their lives, and just write those things that they wish were real but aren't. Now comes the gushy part. I have this husband that really IS amazing. One of the things that he regularly does once the frost has killed all the flowers outside, is to bring me bouquets for no reason at all except that he was thinking of me and because he knows that I love flowers so much. This isn't just an isolated incident. He does it rather often and my heart melts each time. This weekend he also put up the Christmas lights. He took a vacation day to do it and we worked together and put them on the house, the front plum trees and the back trees too. I have to mention here that Christmas lights are about my favorite thing in the world. Walking through temple square during the holidays and seeing all the lights is the equivalent of sneaking a peek into heaven. So this week I have flowers, lights and my hubby home all at the same time. He also took me to breakfast and dinner. Can you say spoiled rotten? Have you gagged yet? I just truly feel blessed to have such a good man in my life and blessed that he treats me like a queen 95% of the time. Now to make it real, I will say that the other 5% of the time he drives me nuts. I can't think how at the moment, but it will come back to me the next time I need to pout and sulk. I mean, he's not perfect and to be honest I pretty much deserve it. I am a heck of a wife.

The Home Where I Grew Up

I grew up in a little Wyoming town and though I haven't actually lived there for 39 years, when I step foot into the front door of Mom and Dad's house I am "home". I love my parent's old house. It was built originally for a doctor and is probably one, if the not the biggest home in Cowley. It has tall ceilings, big rooms and although Mom and Dad have remodeled many things, there is still that vintage look about it. When they bought it, they had quite a large sized lot but have since sold one spot to my brother Jon and another spot to me. Wayne and I really thought we would be building a home on that lot 5 years ago but due to a need for health insurance and security, we moved to Utah. However we still keep in the back of our minds the idea that we may still do it one day. The things I love about their house are these:

Mom and Dad still live there after 50 years

It is a 2 story home and used to have a big porch all across the front but Dad remodeled it to accommodate a large living room. The giant cottonwood trees are no more. They served our family well and protected families of owls, robins and other birds but they also outlived their usefulness when they started to drop large branches that came close to the cars parked beneath so they were taken down. I miss them but Mom and Dad don't. They used to produce enough leaves to jump in for hours or to rake into the shape of my leaf house with divided rooms. I loved that!! Mom and Dad didn't.

Mom always has flowers. She had a row of marigolds that went the length of the lot but has since had to move them because Jon's house sits on this site.

These are the original light fixtures made from heavy leaded glass and brass. Now I ask you, how did they survive with my 4 brothers living there? Then along came my son and the other grandsons that were forever throwing things and (knock on wood) they still survive.

The top sides of the inside doors have this beautiful detail. (Probably hand carved)

The living room still has these wonderful leaded glass windows

The original bead-board and wood railings are still in place going up the stairs.

This is the back of the house which is surrounded by trees and bushes and a very large lawn. It was only in the last few years that Dad got a riding mower.

This is the side where you go down to a cellar and where Mom's home canned food is stored. It only has an outside entrance so in the winter it can be kind of tricky and pretty slick if it has snowed.

This is a decorative wooden element that Dad salvaged and painted and appointed to the top of the front door.

This is the yard in a typical Wyoming winter

The front porch of the home is a place where we all congregate when we go home for a visit. On a hot day, it really doesn't feel as hot as it is. For some reason the air currents rush through and keep it cool. You can see the birds and squirrels running around and the townsfolk driving or walking by and there is always a "hello". Life slows down just a little when you sit on the porch.

Am I sounding nostalgic? I am feeling it. Maybe it's the time of the year, or the fact that I don't get to go home enough any more, or most likely it's the fact that I still have two amazing people to call my parents and I miss them.

Amy and Emerson came over to visit and as any one year old does, he gets into everything. He kept trying to get out the box of tissues and pull them out. We had taken them away from him several times but Grandpa Wayne said to let him have the box. Emerson was very delighted and started to pull them out one by one until the box was empty. It was funny to watch for Wayne but not so funny for Amy as she is the one that has to put them away every time he goes for them now. This is the same Grandpa that feeds Shon's kids potato chips and ice cream for breakfast whenever they come to visit. There is a naughty little boy in Wayne that is living vicariously through his grandkids. I think he would eat ice cream for breakfast and throw things around the room if he weren't so proper and had to be health conscious.

If I stand up I have a little more room to pull.

See my technique?

Got a little leverage here.

This is not as easy at it looks.

No, Mom, Grandpa said I could.