Amy used to work at the Sundance outlet and at the Sundance headquarters. Every year there is a sale for family and friends and we get to go with her. You have to stand in line much like you do at Disneyland and the minute the doors open, everyone runs to their favorite spot and starts shopping. There is a method to the best shopping technique which I haven't mastered yet but which many of the seasoned pros have. There are no carts so you need to take your own shopping bags or scoot a basket on the floor from place to place. We had small shopping bags which was OK but not the best for grabbing and bagging. The thing to do is just grab what you think you might like, then go to a corner and try it on to see if it fits. Within an hour everything is pretty much gone. I wanted shoes so I ran to the shelves and grabbed what looked about my size. I nabbed 4 pair, one of which was a little small so Colett took them. They are all leather.

I also grabbed jewelry which was really hard to get since everyone was pawing over them and you couldn't even move to the next bin or you would lose your place in line. I didn't even take the items out of their bags, just looked at them after I had bought them and loved them all.

The best part is this....I have 3 new pair of leather shoes, a leather belt, new wool mittens, 3 bracelets, and 3 really nice necklaces, 2 sets of bubble lights , a large lighted Santa head and a wool hand hooked Christmas pillow which set me back.....drum roll please.....$62.00.

We plan our whole day around this sale then shop the day away and eat out for a mother/daughter bonding experience, and it works. Can't wait until next year and I will be better prepared.

Amelia (Millie) turned 6 years old Saturday. She is a dancer, a mother to about a hundred dolls and stuffed animals and loves her friends and cousins.

I always tell her she is "MY" girl. Colett always says no, that she is "HER" girl. We have been doing this for years. Millie came up with a solution last week and I think she is pretty smart. She says that when they are at my house, she will be my girl and when she is at home, she is Colett's. That way we won't fight over her. Isn't she diplomatic? And it works.
Happy Birthday you little cutie patootie!!

Easter Egg

The daughters and I went shopping at an expensive boutique last month. They were selling an egg like this for around $30.00. I am a big time crafter and could not bring myself to pay that price, so the next week we went to the craft store to get supplies to make our own. I got this big egg (about 10"tall) at Michael's. It was plastic and bright pink so I painted it silver, and although you can't see it in the picture, I also spray glittered it too because as we all know, everything is better with a little bling on it. I stenciled the polka dots on top of that and then made the tag using cardboard and music paper and glittering the edge and adding vintage sequins and rhinestones. I tied 3 different ribbons around it and made the bow. My price to make it was about $6 since I had a lot of stuff on hand.

Happy Easter everyone.

I Was Seated One Day at the Organ

A few weeks ago, the stake decided to start giving lessons for those who know piano but don't

know how to play the organ. That would be me. I faked it when I worked at the temple in Billings and played prelude before sessions quite often. I even used both keyboards and an occasional pedal. Now that I am taking the lessons, I found out that I have been using the wrong hands on the wrong keyboards and the wrong foot on the pedals. I did pretty well faking how to play legato (smooth and connected) and I was even told several times how beautiful the prelude was. You can only fake it for so long. Now I go to the church two days a week to practice and try to unlearn what I had taught myself and that is hard.

I love to listen to our ward organist who plays with great feeling, uses just the right tempo and doesn't play so loud that you can't hear yourself sing. She also plays beautiful versions of hymns.

Sharon Loiseau is her name and she is my teacher. I know I will never master the organ because I don't have that drive to, but I love learning the basics and since I never really understood the stops Nd settings before, now I can at least play for my own amusement and even enjoyment.

We are supposed to do a recital number in April and I plan to be sick on that day.

For those who haven't heard I have two blogs. This is one, and the other one is about the things in life that bring me joy every day. Amazingly, it is titled "A Joy Every Day". It replaces the "My Musings" blog. Come and join me in my joy of the day and then tell me yours.

A Joy Every Day