Blog updates

I'm currently working on updating this blog. The background is temporary; it's from my Stampin' Up blog that is temporarily down. I haven't had the time to create another background yet, but it's in the works, as is a new banner.

Also planned is more updating at regular intervals.

Click here to place a Stampin' Up order

Girl Scouts and other happenings

I took this picture of D before we left
for Chicago so my parents could see
all of her charms and IPP's.

Deirdre's Silver Award is 100% finished. She spent 31 hours planning the workshop; 9 hours running the workshop; and over 2 hours filling out paperwork. It was all mailed off on January 31. She will receive her award April 16 at an award ceremony in Salt Lake City.

I took this one, so her grandparents
could see all the patches she has
earned the last 2 1/2 years.

She sold 1026 boxes of Girl Scout cookies this year; this is the exact same amount as last year. It might be her last year selling so many boxes. If she makes the softball team, tryouts are today and tomorrow, it will be hard to deliver all her cookies orders. We may decide that it is too much trouble.

Deirdre has finished all of Program Aide requirements for the Senior level: be in grade 9, earn the PA Cadette pin and patch, 5 hours of advanced training, 5 hours of specialized training, 20 hours of Girl Scout service, and 5 hours of mentoring a Cadette PA. They certainly don't make it easy to earn, but it is extremely worth it.

The leadership experience that Deirdre has had has really given her confidence. She works so well with the younger girls.

I am currently serving as both the Service Unit Registrar and Events Director. It really isn't too bad and much better than being the Service Unit Director.

Jeff was asked to be part of the Senate at Snow College. He is also serving as the liaison between the Senate and Curriculum committee, and in charge of the General Education committee for accreditation next year. So for the last two months, he has had quite a few meetings that have cut into the time he normally would be grading papers. He flies to Chicago for a conference on accreditation later this week. They leave early Thursday and return late Saturday and he will be busy all day.

My mother and Deidre standing in front of Sue at the Field Museum.

Deirdre and I just spent Presidents' Day weekend in Chicago. My Auntie Barbie passed away on Valentine's Day and the funeral was February 19. We flew in on Friday and left on Monday. This way we were able to spend Sunday at The Field Museum with my parents. The last time we were there, both the museum and Chicago, was Christmas 2006. We watched a movie on how the paleontologists found Sue—one of the largest and the most complete (85%) T. rex ever found—the museum combined the actual finding with 3-d cartoon of how she might have lived millions of years ago. It was entertaining and educational.





Click here to place a Stampin' Up order

SILVER

Deirdre has finished her Silver Award! She really hasn't; there are a few minor details to take care of, but the main project a "Cookie Workshop" is finished. She was in charge of the entire workshop that younger girl scouts earned Try-Its, badges, and IPP's at.  She did a fabulous job and I am so proud of her. She spent hours (like 31) preparing and then the nine hours of the workshop.

I am always amazed at the things she does. She works so well with the kindergartners and first graders. She has some really leadership abilities that come through. She sets goals and always follows through with them.

As soon as I locate my camera from the back of the van, I will post the pictures she took of the workshop.

Click here to place a Stampin' Up order

Wow! It's been a while

Well, here's an update or part of of an update—

We finally finished the remodel of the house. Well we aren't 100% finished, border and quarter round needed in the master bedroom, quarter round in part of the living room, and the walls of the media room are plain white still. But, and this is important, there is no more drywall dust and we have closets again—no more living out of totes.

In this process we whittled clothes down—I donated 33 garbage bags (the 8 gallon ones) of clothes to DI (Deseret Industries, like the Salvation Army, but through the LDS church).

The whole family has lost weight—combined is over 100 pounds!

Deirdre graduated from eighth grade and is now a freshman at Manti High School. She has a heavy load with English 9 Honors, Geometry Honors, Orchestra, Biology, Architectural Drafting (which is a concurrent enrollment class as a junior she can get college credit for the class), World Geography, and Spanish 1. However, even with this load she rarely has homework and still has a 4.0.

I have taken the year off from the U. I will return for the summer term and then at least one more semester after that. This has been a good thing as the high school is starting the accreditation process again and I have been assigned to help our provisional teachers (those who are in their first three years of teaching) get their portfolios in place so that they may earn their Level 2 license.

Jeff has been busy teaching and writing php code for people all over the world.

Click here to place a Stampin' Up order

"Yet another one bites the dust"

How sad Lynn Redgrave has died. She was only 67 and had, unbeknownst to me, been battling breast cancer for seven years. A write-up can be found here. There is a great quote in the article, "It was always, 'Corin's the brain, Vanessa the shining star, oh, and then there's Lynn." I'm sure that wasn't the case, well I'm not sure since I didn't know her or the family, but… probably not the case really.

Probably awful of me to use that title, but those lyrics just popped into my head and off I went.


Click here to place a Stampin' Up order

Hannah's List

When I'm in the right mood, I really enjoy Debbie Macomber's books. She writes contemporary romances with little to no sex and more on the light-hearted side. The Romance Dish blog has a give-away going on right now, well until May 9, for a free copy of Macomber's latest hardcover Hannah's List. The contest can be found here.

Set in Seattle, like so many of her other books, Macomber revisits some of her previous characters from Summer on Blossom Street, Twenty Wishes, Back on Blossom Street, and other Blossom Street books, in this book about widower Michael Everett. The reviews of this book have been mixed. The majority of reviewers like the book, but have questioned some of the sub-plots and the quick wrap up of them. I guess I'll have to read it for myself and find out if they are right. Here's hoping I win a copy from The Romance Dish.

Click here to place a Stampin' Up order