It's Thursday already!

Oh my gosh, where has the week gone! Sunday we went to church, which included helping the Sunday school kids learn the songs for our Christmas play, and then I attended a meeting, then church. I can't even remember what I did after that. I am pretty sure I took a nap and then did homework.

Homework is consuming my life right now. I have two papers I need to finish by tomorrow. Fortunately one is pretty easy and the other is almost done. Then next week I have a test and a quiz in Math and two finals. I also have a final presentation and paper due in English. Then on the 12th I have my Math final and my Computer final. Then I'm off for a few weeks! YAY~!

Mike came back from his trip to South Dakota and Colorado. We went to lunch on Tuesday. He told me he was offered a job from a company in Arizona. He really wants to work at this company, and if he does take the job it will mean he is moving, of course. Story of my life! Oh well, at least we aren't way too far into this relationship. We are going to a party on Friday to celebrate the retirement of one of his friends. Should be fun.

There is a young girl in my Social Work class who has really taken control of her life after being a drug addict and an alcoholic. She joined Job Corps almost two years ago, went to rehab and has been clean ever since, and of course she is now in college working to break the cycle of poverty and substance abuse that has been her family's story for several generations. Well, yesterday I was wearing a peridot necklace I got from a silver jewelry website. She noticed it and said peridot was her birthstone. So I took the necklace off and gave it to her! I couldn't believe how good that made me feel. The necklace wasn't expensive but it sure made her smile. She was so shocked. She said no one had ever given her anything like that before. I don't doubt it with the background she grew up in. Well, to make a long story short, it was really better to give than to receive.

Saturday I think Chelsea and I will be going to Snowbasin to go skiing/snowboarding. That will depend on whether it warms up a bit. Right now it is 1 degree at the base and 3 degrees at the summit. Way too cold for me! If that doesn't work I'd like to go to SLC and see the Festival of Trees at the South Towne Center.

Today I have a parent/student/teacher conference at Chelsea's Project Lead the Way school. I know she has struggled with Physics but I think she's doing okay in Engineering. When I try to help her with Physics I know why she's having trouble. That stuff is HARD!!!

Well, I'm off to pick up the candles for her Soccer Fundraiser. Too much fun!

I'm running again!

Well, sort of! I went running this morning and it was great. I didn't run the whole way but did better than I thought I would. The morning was sunny and crisp. It was a little cool but I was dressed appropriately so it was fine. My left knee was complaining a little so I'll give it a break and run again on Monday. I forgot how much I like running. It's been over a month since I last ran, but my friend, Tammy, who is in Iraq has started running. (For some reason she blames me for this!) Now I've promised her I will run the Standard Examiner 10K with her in June. Guess if I'm going to run 10 K I'd better get to the point where I can run 5K without stopping!

I had a good Thanksgiving, shared with Chelsea and good friends. Of course I ate too much, so will now have to work extra hard to get these pounds off. But it was all so good I couldn't help myself.

Today Chelsea has had two friends over, and now she has invited 3 boys to come over to play "night games". It is freezing out but I guess running around will warm them up.

Well it's off to bed for me. Sunday morning comes too early.

Counting my many blessings

Of course, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I've done a lot of thought the past few days about how blessed I am. In fact, I think I might be the most blessed person I know.

I have a God who loves me no matter what. For that I am grateful.

I have a wonderful family who loves me no matter what. My parents have been married for 48 years and counting. They have shown me what true love is about. They sacrificed and did without so that my brothers, sister and I always had all of what we needed and most of what we really wanted. They taught us that education is very important, and family is even more important. They have taught me how to be a good parent, how to manage money, how to be a good citizen, how to work hard. They have loved me even through the most difficult times. For all of this I am grateful.

My brothers and my sisters (this includes those who married into our family) have been a great support to me. No matter where I've been around the world, and no matter what was going on in their lives, they have always been there for me. We have all gone through our own difficult times and have all come out of it better people. The true testiment of how wonderful my brothers and sisters are is evident in what wonderful people their children are. I am so proud of all my nieces and nephews and how they are also good citizens who know how important education is and know how to work hard. They give me faith in the future of our country.

My family is so wonderful that I've heard many times over the years, from friends and relatives how they wished their family was as close as ours is. That's not to say we haven't had our problems, but we all know that in the end we will always love each other, and sometimes just agree to disagree. In fact, in the 27 years I have lived away from home I have missed only 3 Christmas'. I was in Guam for one, Saudi Arabia for one and England for one. I did, however, come home 2 times from England and once from Guam to spend Christmas with my family. I'll be there again this year.

I have so many great friends, sometimes I think I need to pinch myself! I'm often asked why I live in Utah rather than in N. Idaho with the rest of my family. My answer is my church family and my great friends. It is like having another whole family right here. My friends have been with me through thick and thin, and I with them. I look forward to growing old with everyone her in Utah, and seeing future grandkids get baptized in my church, surrounded by the hundreds of people there I have grown to love.

I have a man who is my friend first, and has recently become a very good friend. I don't know where that will lead, but it is nice to have someone care about you and want to be around you. So I'm just enjoying this relationship as it develops.

I have been blessed with a wonderful career, which now provides me with an adequate pension. This enables me to live my dream of going to college full time and to be able to be home with my daughter during her teenage years. It's funny how a decision at 17 years old can affect your life all these years later.

I have a home that is affordable and comfortable, and I have never had to worry about a place to live, how I could pay the mortgage, or if I can afford to heat my house in the winter. I have a wonderful new car, reliable and dependable. I have decent clothes, more than enough food to eat, shoes on my feet and internet access! Really, who could ask for more.

I have a cute dog who also loves me unconditionally. He greats me every day with a smile, and keeps me company. He is a friend to my daughter and a real part of our family. We couldn't imagine our lifes without him.

Most of all, though, I am thankful for a 14 year old girl who means everything to me. She has lived without a father her whole life, and yet does not complain. She has had to move way too many times and still turned out okay. She gets good grades in school without my having to demand it. She is nice to people who are disabled. She loves children and "old people". She gets "H"s for citizenship (highest honors). She sits close to me in church, putting her head on my shoulder when the sermon gets too long. She loves our church as much as I do, always looking forward to going on Sundays, and anytime. She doesn't mind going to the movie with me or being seen with me at the mall. She tells me how bad smoking and drugs are and says "I don't understand why people do that, it's just going to ruin their lives." She loves sports and music. She is everything a mother could hope for in a daughter. She is truly the best thing that's ever happened to me. I am excited to see her growing up and becoming a young woman. I can't wait to see who she will become.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and remember, there are many people out there who would love to hear what a blessing they are to you. Consider telling them. Mary

Sunday Morning

My dad went in to surgery on Wed. and had two discs removed from his neck (this is some sort of strange family tradition, since both me and my older brother have had the same surgery). All seemed to go well, and I talked to him on Thursday. His throat was a little sore but his arm was feeling much better now that his nerve wasn't pinched anymore.

On Friday evening my Mom called and my dad was back in surgery because there was bleeding into his throat and he couldn't swallow. My mom had given Dad some ice cream and when he couldn't eat that (his most favorite food in the whole world!) she knew something was wrong. He came out of that surgery okay and I'll call him today to see how he's doing.

My friend, Norma, has had cancer for about 2 1/2 years. I was told yesterday that this would most likely be her last week. I am taking the family dinner on Tuesday and will say my goodbyes. This is so hard because she is about my age, and seemed so healthy before she got sick. She is dying of melenoma. The skin cancer spread to her brain and her lungs before she even knew there was anything wrong with her. She didn't have a weird mole or anything, and so it took a while and two samples to Johns Hopkins to figure out what kind of cancer it was. Please, please wear your sunscreen! And make your kids wear there's too! Even a little sunburn can lead to skin cancer!

On Friday Chelsea had a party after the end of her school play. She called at intermission and asked if some girls could come over for a "late night". I said that would be fine, so about 6 girls came over. When they got her she said one of them could spend the night if it was okay with me. It was a girl Chelsea hang out with a few years ago. I always liked her and so I said yes, hoping they'll start hanging out more. I went to bed about 11:00. When I woke up on Saturday, I heard voices in the family room so went down there. I was surprised to see Chelsea and 3 other girls! They are all good girls and again, I am glad they were here because Chelsea's current friends aren't that great in my opinion, promising to call and they never do, saying they'll sleep over and then calling 10 minutes before they are supposed to come and saying they can't, etc. So I really am hoping she starts hanging with the group of girls that were here. She has been friends with all of them since at least 7th grade, and one of them since 4th grade. I never tell her who she can and can't hang out with but I think I'll let her have another sleepover with these 3 girls and hopefully she'll realize they are much better friends than the current ones she hangs out with.

Well, I need to get ready for church. We have a long day ahead of us. Chelsea and I are Director and Assist. Director for our church Christmas play, so we have practice this morning, then we are doing the Prayers of the People at the 11:00 service. Then we are helping with our church bazaar this afternoon until 3:00 when our church's annual congregational meeting will be held. We'll leave home at 9:00 and get home about 6:00! I've got some Shephard's pie that is frozen so I've popped it in the oven and set the timer, so we should have a hot meal when we get home.

My New Car!

So, I am always the one who tells people to never buy a new car. I always buy vehicles that are one or two years old. I have been looking for a used Camry for awhile. I was surprised to find out how reasonable they are. I guess it's because when I bought my Highlander I got a one that is loaded with all the options, and being an SUV and only one year old it was pretty expensive. So I've been looking at 2006 and used 2007s. I found a used 2007 Camry LE for $19995 in SLC. I went to talk to a classmate's husband to see if that was a good deal. (He works at the local Toyota dealer.) Well I walked out of the dealership with a brand new, red, 2007 Camry LE for $19995!

I am going to sell my Highlander, hopefully for around $13000 so will only owe $7,000. Considering my Highlander has 100,000 miles and only gets 20 mpg I think I got a pretty good deal. I checked out the value of my Highlander and according to www.nada.com I could get aroung $15,000 - $17000, but I think that might be a little optimistic. However, the body is in great shape and it does have leather, heated seats, and really every option available I might get more than $13,000. I will put an asking price of $15,500 and see what happens. It's paid for so I don't have to sweat making two car payments.

Speaking of payments, did you know you can get a loan for 6 years easily on a car, and more if you need to? I got a 4 year loan, however once I sell my Highlander I will put all of that towards the car and then use all of my school money to pay it off. I expect to have it paid for by June 2007.

I got more good news at the dealership: I have a credit score of 858. The finance guy said it's the second highest score he's seen! I do have to say they were a little worried when I said I didn't have a job, but once they did a credit check they said I could get any vehicle they sell! Not too bad for an unemployed single mother!

By the way, you can check out the car by clicking on the title of this entry. My color is Barcelona Red Mettalic. I get my love of red cars from my Dad and my grandma.

Borat!

I have to say that "Borat" is the funniest movie I've ever seen. I laughed so hard I cried, and so did everyone else in the theatre. It is rated "R", but I am really surprised it didn't get an NC-17 rating (which replaced "X" a few years ago). There are several full frontal male shots and there are some very, very funny scenes. I'll just leave it at that. I will say, however, that if you are the type of parent who occasionally lets your teenagers watch an "R" movie, this is probably not one you should consider letting them watch. Part of the fun is knowing that most of the people in the film believe it is truly a documentary about a guy from Kazakhstan. They have know idea they are being made fools of. Of course, now many are suing. After all that's the American way!

My date went well, I think. We went to the Lion's Den restaraunt, the food was good, then we went to the movie. It really is a good thing we've known each other for over two years. This would not have been a movie I would have wanted to see on a first date with someone I really didn't know. After the movie we went to my house and watched the Saturday Night Live 15th Anniversary Special and the 25th Anniversary special.

Today Chelsea and I went to church and then went to SLC so she could spend some birthday money. It was burning a hole in her debit card! We went to Hollister, which is a trendy, over-priced store for teenagers. She bought two t-shirts which both said "Hollister" on them. Go figure, she spent $15 each on t-shirts to advertise the store! Guess I'm getting old because I am not a "brand name" sort of person, especially when it comes to clothes. But it was her money, so I didn't say a wordl She also went to another trendy teenage store, Aeropostale, but that was much more reasonable. We had a "friends and family" discount card so she got a hoodie sweatshirt and a pair of jeans for only $27.

We were lazy the rest of the day, with both of us taking a nap. Now I need to get busy and get some homework done. Oh, and speaking of school, I do have to brag a little bit. Even though I don't like math and have never been very good at it I have a 98% in my contemporary math class! Yayy me!

Happy Anniversary To Me!

Today marks 20 years since I took the last drag of my Merit Menthol cigarette in the parking lot of the N. Las Vegas Library. I took a smoking cessation class from the American Lung Association and back then there were no patches or pills to help. We went to class once a week for three weeks before we quit cold turkey. Then we continued with class for 6 more weeks. I think it was pretty successful, with over half of the class quitting.

This was one of the hardest things I've ever done and to this day I have never dared to even take one puff of a cigarette because I fear I'd be back to smoking regularly in no time. It is embarrassing to say how much that fear still haunts me, even after all these years. I guess it's obvious if I know the exact date I quit. But mostly I remember it because it was the day before Veteran's Day, which is tomorrow.

Speaking of Veteran's Day, please take a few moments and thank those men and women who have preserved our freedoms over the past 230 years. Especially those who are currently serving. Please pray for their safe return home. I pray especially for my friend Tammy who won't be home until March. In the meantime her husband is doing his best to raise their two boys.

I am going to dinner and a movie with Mike, so will report on the success of that date on Sunday.

It's about time!

I know it's about time I updated my blog. I'm sorry, just been a little busy. I want you to see some photos so here they are. The first is Chelsea's Halloween costume. As you can see she's been abducted by an alien. Too bad he didn't keep her!













And this is her on Super Hero day. She was Cheeto Girl. Bet you can't guess what her favorite color is! She's weird, but cute!




















Last Thursday I saw the Utah Symphony with Eileen Ivers, a world class Celtic violinist. It was wonderful! And the conductor for the Symphony was fun to watch and cute! You can check out Eileen by clicking on the title at the top of this post.

On Saturday I went to Twin Falls to a Charity Scrapbooking event with my friends from Idaho Scrappers. We raised over $2500 for a women's shelter in Boise. I had a great time seeing my old friends, too.

Yesterday I went to lunch with my friend, Mike. We went to Schlotzkys. I don't think I've ever eaten at one before. They have good sandwiches but I'm sure they aren't too good for you!

I've been studying for a math test tomorrow. I'll be glad when this semester is over! I've been planning my course load for next semester and it looks like I'll have 13 credit hours. That will be 2 credit hours less than this semester but it will include Social Statistics, so I am not looking forward to that!

Tomorrow I need to get some leaves raked. It is supposed to rain on Thursday so I need to get them done before then.

Wish me luck on my math test tomorrow. I'm going to need it!