Let it snow...

Okay, that's enough! :) Monday we got about 14 inches, mostly during the daytime. Spent the rest of the week reminding myself how to drive [safely] in the snow. Last night it started snowing again, and we've gotten another 12 inches since then. Enough for a snow fort in the yard [back] and there's more than enough to build a snow town in our front yard [if somebody gets bored].

Thursday we got a quick visit from my in-laws. They drove up, slept at our house, then Jared and his dog took my FIL and HIS dog hunting pheasants on Friday. My MIL and I went out to eat, and discussed Christmas stuff, and listened to Christmas music. Then we went and got my kids from school, had a snack [kids], and drove down to visit Nate and Caitlin. We ate dinner at Buco di Beppa, a wonderfully noisy Italian restaurant, with delicious food that they serve family style. :) And since it is already noisy, when I bring my three noisy children, they fit right in!

Saturday the boys went to the Dinosaur Museum, and the girls [including Morgen] went shopping for: fabric, old stuff [at this awesome junky store that has lots of cool treasures if you look hard], and new paint for our toes. We decided the pedicure was a nice treat after all that walking around :)

Oh, and today, despite the many inches of snow on the ground, Morgen wore her sandals WITHOUT socks to church. I wondered [snow, cold, bare toes], but she is old enough to know better, and I refuse to nag her about things that won't be fatal. Halfway to church I realized that her motivation was to show off those fancy new toes, with the little glitter flowers painted onto her big toenails. Fancy! And now I understand. :)

Having the Carrot and Squash Curry Soup again today, along with my stand-by bread recipe with rosemary added, made into rolls, and a Caesar Salad. :) Perfect cold weather meal.

Gratitude List:
* Good music.
* Cough medicine [not for me].
* Sunday naps [also not for me].
* That Jared is hardly ever sick :) and when he is, he just gets quiet and sleepy.
* Lots of snow, and lots of imagination to help us know what to do with it.
* Good food :)
* 4 wheel drive
* God
* My family, friends, and neighbors

Full of it

Thanks, I mean :). We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. All the best family traditions were present: someone raided the rolls before dinner, squealing baby noises [they took turns], bloody mashed potatoes [cranberry sauce is awesome!], guys played Risk, way too much food, several delicious pies, oh, and we got to terrorize a possible family member [my sister's date].

We like to play games when we aren't eating. Some favorites are Ticket to Ride, Bohnanza, Shadows Over Camelot [except when we have to cheat to win and the game gets really REALLY long], and Snorta. My brother brought a new game- Curses- and it was a huge hit with the kids :) I have one thing to say: Ye're always after me lucky charms! hee hee

I'm so grateful for my family!

Gratitude List:
* Pies. I was going to list them individually, but restrained myself.
* Dad and Mom- they are both wonderful people and I'm glad to be descended from them.
* Brothers and Sisters. :) Especially younger ones who aren't married and can be tricked into bringing dates to dinner LOL.
* Frisbee games
* Soccer games
* Board games
* Football games
* Other people's cooking [thank you mom!]
* knitting projects
* Audio books that make an hour-long drive a peaceful and calm experience.
* Babies to hold, and return to their own parents when they begin to cry. :)
* Peppermint Ice Cream and Brownies with Homemade Chocolate Sauce for Monkey's birthday party [and a niece with a monkey who NEEDS to have a birthday party].
* That I have so very much to be grateful for.

The deadline approaches...

Yes, and my kitchen table has crafts piled up on it, waiting patiently for me to stop reading blogs [and adding new crafts to my list of things to do], and actually finish making them.

:) Wood to sand, blocks need a pattern traced and painted, hats to knit, scarves to match hats [also to knit], some embroidery of towels, that adorable autumn [!!] wall hanging I need to finish, a tree skirt to quilt [I've decided the length of unhemmed fabric wrapped around the tree trunk is lazy and this year is the year I will replace it], baking- lots of baking- cookies and other fattening things, oh, and I've added a few books to my "read this" list. Ummm, anybody know any elves with nothing to do? Or failing that, a nice person who will clean my house and fix dinners for me so I can really focus on finishing up this to-do-list?

No? *sigh* Fine.

On the bright side, one set of Christmas presents is completely finished. Not wrapped [yet], but they will be soon.

I am so very grateful that I am not in charge of cooking the turkey this year! And I'm very thankful that my mother is a wonderful cook, and that she is willing to invite us over to her house for Thanksgiving dinner. I counted, and she'll have 22 people over this year. That's 2 grandparents, 6 kids, 4 spouses, and 10 grandchildren. Wow. And [this is the slightly scary part] we're still missing 1 kid, 1 spouse, and 3 grandkids.

Gratitude List:
* walks with Jared. Even when it's chilly out and my mittens are scratchy.
* warm woolen mittens :)
* knitting quick projects [like hats] as opposed to long ones [like baby blankets]
* central heat
* tuna noodle casserole [comfort food at its best] because it reminds me of my dad. Every time my mom had to go somewhere around dinnertime, he would make us this. It is one of my favorite dishes :)
* the magic loop [it's a knitting thing, and it really is magic. Trust me.]
* family gatherings
* good food.
* pies [they are good, but not good for you, so they need their own separate category.]
* There is a special holiday just for being grateful. That absolutely rocks!
* freedom [of speech, to bear arms, of religion, to vote... this country allows me so much freedom and I am truly thankful of this blessing.]
* Faith. Hope. Charity. Prayer. God. Jesus Christ. Atonement. Love.
* books
* ipod for music and podcasts.
* waiting until after Thanksgiving to turn on Christmas music. The anticipation makes it even more special :)
* we have plenty- more than enough for ourselves and to share.
* opportunities to give.
* hot cocoa.
* friends.

Hay Rides

Dragged the kids to a primary activity [church group for kids 3-12] today. It was snowing, just the fat fluffy flakes that sort of drift down slowly, and we were sitting on hay bales stacked into the back of an open trailer pulled by a diesel truck. It was awesome :). We brought fruit and vegetables [or nothing if we forgot LOL], and made up 12 bags to deliver to people in the neighborhood. Then we all [parents, teachers, and children] hopped onto the trailer and sang holiday songs while we slowly drove around and delivered them all. Some of the songs weren't very holiday-like [911-away, for example], but it was pretty awesome to see the kids' faces when they got to sing our made-up thanksgiving song to each recipient. They'd race up to the door, thrust the bag into the person's hands, belt out the song, and race back to the trailer.

So, my reading list:
John Adams -David McCullough
Already posted about this book- absolutely worth the time it took me to read it. I'm a pretty fast reader, so working on this book got frustrating, especially since I had a list of books I wanted to read and I wouldn't let myself start any of the non-fiction ones until I finished this one. I'm looking forward to watching the HBO movie when it comes from Netflix.

The Go-Getter -Peter B Kyne
This is a very short book, and currently out of print. I ordered it through Dave Ramsey's website, because they keep this book in their shop. Very good, very thought-provoking, and one I'll be reading to my kids soon.

Glenn Beck's Common Sense
I wasn't sure if I would like this or not. Mostly because I'm not sure about whether I can agree with too much of what Glenn Beck says. [i.e. his support of the gold standard, which has not been used as a foundation for economics since the fall of the Roman Empire. If the world is really coming to an end, I'm going to stockpile food, water, and ammunition for the many guns my husband owns. Oh, and yarn :). I'll be stockpiling a lot of yarn.] He has a valid point, though, and I really appreciated the copy of Thomas Paine's Common Sense that was included in the appendix of the book. I do need to be more involved in what my representatives in Congress are doing. I do need to be aware that my freedoms are at risk whenever a politician gets a brilliant [or not] idea. So, overall, worth the hour it took to read it.

Handmade Home -Amanda Blake Soule
Wonderful [and sometimes weird] ideas for re-using fabric and other supplies around my house to create new things for my loved ones. I got a lot of good ideas, and I'm adding ideas to my list of projects.

Boundaries -Cloud and Townsend
Read this once before, and I was grateful for the reminder. I feel like I have pretty healthy boundaries, but getting a reminder of where the lines should be drawn is always nice. Since I got a bit carried away with volunteer work this year, I am making notes for myself for next year. :)

Tribes -Seth Godin
Another short read, and this author is a genius marketing guy. Very common-sense stuff about leadership. Looking for his other books [Purple Cow and Permission Marketing] just because I enjoyed this one so much.

The Last Lecture -Randy Pausch
Major tear-jerker. Lots of good advice. Quick, but intense, read.

Scratch Beginnings -Adam Shepard
AWESOME. This book needs to be taught to each and every person who is currently looking for a job [because they're unemployed, or don't like their job]. Basically, Adam decided to see if "The American Dream" still existed in modern America. He took $25, the clothes on his back, a duffle, and a sleeping bag, and took a train to a city he'd never been to before. He wasn't allowed to use his college education, any of his assets, or any contacts he already had. His goal was, at the end of a year, to have $2500 in savings, a car that reliably worked, and a furnished apartment [with or without a roommate]. He made it, and his story was a wake-up call to me.

We're also listening to The Mysterious Benedict Society audiobook. Very amusing :) and the kids are begging to go somewhere- anywhere- so they can listen to the end of it.

And, I've updated my list, on the sidebar, of books I'm reading. Well, actually, it isn't all the books I'm reading. That would be too long. The list is just the non-fiction books, or the really REALLY good fiction ones.

Gratitude List:

* Snow. Part of the blessing [or curse] of living in a mountain valley is that we'll get a lot of snow every winter. I am excited about this :)
* Kids who are old enough and strong enough to shovel snow. Probably this is why I'm so excited about the snow LOL.
* Books. I have so many of them, and access to so many more. Truly a blessing- knowledge is power, after all.
* I can vote, and I did vote. My voice counts. Plus, since I participated, I have the right to complain about the people I voted for :).
* Hot chocolate on cold days. Mmmmm.
* Cookies anytime. Really, you can't go wrong with cookies. Unless you leave out the chocolate chips...
* This recipe for Carrot and Squash Curry Soup. Yummy with homemade wheat bread. Or storebought wheat bread. Whatever ;)
* We have enough for ourselves, and plenty to spare.
* Showing my kids that giving to others will bless and enrich their own lives.
* My husband is home the rest of the year!!! [except for the hunting and fishing trips...]
* Rearranging furniture is almost as much fun as buying new furniture. Bonus: it is completely free, which is not true about buying new stuff, alas.
* I'm making cards again, after taking a break for a few months. Hobbies are only hobbies if they're for fun.
* Knitting a beautiful, soft, blue blanket. Not sure I want to give it away at this point LOL.
* Getting excited for Thanksgiving dinner with some of my family. Wish they could all come, but I'm thinking that 2 parents plus 5 out of 7 kids is a pretty good turnout.
* Family.
* Friends.
* Neighbors.
* God. He is so good to me.

How to stay busy

I think I got a little excited about all the "free time" I would enjoy once my kids started public school :). I'm working with a local animal shelter, and helping in the schools 2 times a week, and trying to catch up on housework and crafts that I put off much longer than I meant to. But, in my vast amount of free time, I've also been tackling the huge stack of non-fiction books that I would like to read.

John Adams, by David McCullough, has been at the top of that list for about 2 years, and I finally finished it Friday night. I find myself incredibly amazed and humbled by reading about this man. He was flawed, yes; and yet he managed to accomplish so very much, and was aware of his faults and constantly trying to overcome them. But my favorite part of the book came after he'd finished his term as the 2nd President of the United States. He retired to a farm that he and Abigail had bought and she had primarily run during his long years of service to his country. They both retained a sharp interest in politics, but he never again served in a public office. And his last years are a witness that he really did practice what he preached: that a man be not dependent on public service for his income. When he died, he left a sizeable estate to his children and grandchildren. While he was acting as Vice President to George Washington, he wrote to his son Thomas,

"Public business, my son, must always be done by somebody. It will be done by somebody or other. If wise men decline it, others will not; if honest men refuse it, others will not. A young man should weigh well his plans. Integrity should be preserved in all events, as essential to his happiness, through every stage of his existence. His first maxim then should be to place his honor out of reach of all men. In order to do this he must make it a rule never to become dependent on public employments for subsistence. Let him have a trade, a profession, a farm, a shop, something where he can honestly live, and then he may engage in public affairs, if invited, upon independent principles. My advice to my children is to maintain an independent character."

I wish that more of our "public servants" had this as a personal goal. I think that the longer a person serves in Washington, the more out-of-touch and corrupted he/she becomes. I can honestly say that, while I appreciate those men and women who serve well, I am becoming convinced that term limits should be applied to each and every person who serves in any way in my government. I need them to be more accountable to me as a voter, and I need them NOT to become career politicians. I don't believe the government will solve all my problems. I believe it is a necessary evil, and should be kept as small and weak as possible. I've decided that I cannot continue to be a Democrat [and I won't become a Republican either], because while they talk a good talk, they do not follow through on their promises. I'll be closely examining each candidate and voting for the ones that show integrity in their personal lives, regardless of which party they are affiliated with.

Okay, that's enough of the political stuff :). 2 weeks ago my kids had a 2-day break from school, and we all [Jared took time off] made a quick trip to Denver, Colorado to tour the US Mint. Here's a picture of us after the tour, since they don't allow pictures inside the building itself:

We went to the Denver Children's Museum, and let the kids run around and explore for a few hours. Morgen spent some time dancing in the theater, and quite a bit of time in the veterinarian room playing vet with the stuffed animals, but most of her time was spent in the art room, painting:

Hyrum played all over, but spent the most time shooting baskets in the basketball court. There was a button that he pushed to make the big blaring sound to end each quarter, just like in real basketball games. He liked playing "horse" and "pig" on the courts:

I wasn't sure that Walker could find anything he would enjoy doing, but he proved me wrong. He and Jared spent over an hour building an extensive, looping railroad track that bridged several of the tables in that room. Here's a picture of the beginning stages of the track:

Here are my two engineers, discussing where to put the next piece of track:

While I was in the vet room with Morgen, a lady said my name. I looked at her, and realized I knew her [Kristen Weed]- totally a surprise, since I had no idea she lived in Denver! She's a few years younger than I am, and her parents lived down the street from my parents while they were in Nevada. She actually knows my husband as well :). We chatted for a little bit, then she headed back home. But wow- random and fun to see her!

We drove through Laramie, and toured the Governor's Mansion there. Did you know that Wyoming was the first state to give women the right to vote? And, it was the first state to elect a woman as governor: Nellie Tayloe Ross. She went on to become the director of the US Mint, serving in that position from 1933-1953. [Texans elected a woman governor the same year, but Nellie was inaugurated first :)]

We cannot go on any family outing without including some sort of outdoor activity. This is the Ames Monument, built to honor 2 brothers who helped bring the railroad to this part of the country.

Of course, we couldn't just walk around it. Some of us saw this as a challenge, and decided to climb it!

Jared took off today after church, and he'll be in Reno through the end of the week. I'm hoping he makes it back in time for trick-or-treating :)

Gratitude List:
* Freedom of Speech. I am so grateful that I have the right to openly state my opinions and know that I cannot be arrested for thinking differently than my government officials do.
* Jared got to stay for church, and help me with our sunday school class, as they put on a little program for the rest of the kids.
* Beautiful fall leaves, and cool fall weather.
* We have the money to replace the sliding glass door panel that was shattered when the person who was weed-whacking the lawn shot a rock into it by accident.
* Nobody was hurt by the shattered glass :) because the plastic film kept the pieces together. Oh, and we got a good lesson in how glass fractures :) It's incredibly cool to watch and hear the glass cracking. Expensive, but cool!
* I have 3 healthy kids.
* I have good family, and good friends.
* homemade chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Mmmmm!
* Good music.
* time [even if it's only 10 minutes] to read books.
* My husband has a good job, and we are financially stable.
* God is mindful of me, and blesses me according to my needs.

Money-saving tips

So, last Saturday, Jared got an elk! He bought a tag for a spike [young male] elk, and was drawn out for a cow elk as well.

**don't worry- elk have their babies in the spring, and by fall the calves are weaned and ready to be on their own. if the cow elk he shot did have a baby, it is plenty old enough to feed itself.**

Anyway, he gutted it where he shot it, then brought the carcass home, and skinned it in the garage. He packed the inside of the animal with ice, rolled it up in a tarp, and stored it in the garage until he got a chance to butcher it and wrap up the meat. Tonight was spent grinding up the tougher cuts of meat to make elk burger and elk sausage. And, since elk is a very lean meat [and if you try to fry ground elk, you will end up with charcoal], he ground up some bacon to mix into the elk so we could fry it and eat the results. We now have a freezer full of arm and rump roasts, steaks, ground elk burger, and elk sausage. If you don't factor in the rifle, ammunition, and frustration from previous unsuccessful hunts [ha ha ha], we ended up with 150 pounds of meat for $35- the price of the tag.

On a completely unrelated topic, Morgen and Hyrum are enjoying their soccer games. M's team has not won any games, but they are getting much better at defense :). H's team has won every game but one, and H is improving- he will mostly watch the ball now, instead of playing with the net or laying on the grass and counting bugs. Walker has grown again- his head is level with my eyes. I taught another art class today at his school [it's once a month, all day long], and took him out for lunch. We were walking down the hall, and I looked over at him, and suddenly felt very short. When did this happen?! He was just a little squirt a few days ago...

Gratitude List:
* Good books- too many, actually- that are sitting on my dresser waiting for me to read them.
* A steady income, and a husband who enjoys his job.
* We are debt-free!!! [I know I already shared this, but every day I get excited about it all over again ;)]
* Jared is back home! [except for when he's out hunting elk]
* Podcasts of my church's semiannual general conference, so I can listen to uplifting messages wherever I am.
* My faith in God, and His Son, Jesus Christ.
* A freezer filled completely full of meat.
* 3 healthy kids I get to raise.
* Jared knows how to fix leaky washer hoses. Even when the leaks are because somebody poked them with a thumb tack.
* Wonderful friends who are loving and supportive.
* My new neighborhood is a beautiful place, even with the snow we've gotten over the last week.
* My family
* Jared

Mourning

This video described almost exactly my personal feelings about my own grief, and also gave a great description of what another person can do to comfort someone when they mourn.
Mourning

Wow, 2 posts in a row!

But this post is a very short one, just to celebrate the payment of our very last debt.


WE ARE COMPLETELY DEBT-FREE!!!!! [picture me shouting and dancing around our living room]

** Paid the credit cards off, after Jared finished college and got a "real job". [2005]

** Paid off our Durango loan [2006]

** Paid off our Ford loan [2008]

** Sold our house in Kearns, for a profit, and paid off our mortgage. And we are currently renting, so we have no mortgage right now! [2009]

** Paid off our student loan IN FULL [12:47 pm on 15 September 2009]

Oh I want to throw a party!

hmmm, maybe I will...

tagged

My friend Kristina tagged me LOL, and since I haven't posted in almost a month [oops!] I thought this would be a good kick-start for me.

The rules are that I must post 7 things about myself. Completely random things. Here goes:

1. I'm reading all our Louis L'Amour books again. Because I can, and because I found them when I unpacked one of the five [now four] boxes we had left in the basement.

2. I can finally say I don't bite my nails. I've been trying to break that habit for about 25 years now :)

3. I enjoy teaching the art class I volunteered for at Walker's junior high. Not that I'm an artist by any means- I'm more of a planned project presenter. But it's still a lot of fun!

4. I recently discovered that jump-roping is a great exercise. And a great excuse to act like a kid again!

5. I still miss my Myles. I don't think that will ever stop.

6. Our Kachina dog has chewed pretty close to every single thing she can get her teeth into. I'm beginning to think she has an obsessive-compulsive thing going on, with all the chewing and digging.

7. I like the cool evenings we enjoy up here in the Heber Valley. The kind where you need a warm flannel shirt and a fire to keep you comfortable outside. And if you also get to enjoy some s'mores, well, you're extra lucky ;)

Kids are back in school, and we all think this is a good thing. Walker's playing trumpet [thanks to my sister Joy and my parents who let us borrow Joy's trumpet]. He has been pretty good about practicing, and I think he's actually enjoying himself. Thank goodness for that!

Morgen's teacher has 4 pets in his classroom: a tarantula, a gecko, a snake, and a fish. Morgen thinks she's died and gone to heaven. She got to hold the gecko last week and that was the highlight of her day!

Hyrum loves his teacher and his classroom friends. He's quite social and has made a bunch of friends, but he's having a bit of trouble with the whole 'do what the teacher asks you to, and not whatever you would like to do' thing. Luckily, he is a sweet kid, and is trying his best.

Today we bought soccer cleats for M and H because they're signed up to play soccer this fall. 8 games, 2 per week, so we'll only be running around for 4 weeks, but both M and H are looking forward to their first game on Tuesday.

Jared's still in Pennsylvania. This trip has been hard- 4 weeks total that he'll be away- but with the kids in public school, and the projects we've been working on, I think we're handling it okay. It is hard, though, because we all miss him terribly.

Gratitude List:
* I love our neighborhood, and the friends I am making here.
* Email and the internet to keep me connected with my old friends :)
* Texts from Jared, whenever he's bored in class.
* The mountains. The trees on them are beginning to change colors, and it's a breath-taking sight.
* Time to volunteer at the schools my kids attend.
* We have shelter, food, and clothing.
* We are SO close to being completely debt-free!!
* Ice cream :)
* My family and Jared's.
* God
* This beautiful world I live in.

An unexpected experience

Heber has been really good for reuniting us with old [as in we knew them when we were young and less wrinkly] friends. In June, I was shopping in the grocery store, and saw my best friend [from high school] Aleeca's mom in the store. No, she doesn't live in Heber, but she happened to be at that store on that day, and I was able to get Aleeca's phone number and re-establish contact with her.

About 2 weeks ago, Jared and I were on a date [shocking, I know], and noticed a man who looked a lot like the guy Jared used to go fishing with when we lived in Provo [about 10 years ago, now]. Sure enough, when he turned around, it was Jeff! We exchanged phone numbers, and arranged to go boating with him and his family last Saturday. :)Although the water was pretty cold [we are, after all, in the mountains], riding the tube was awesome. My kids were pretty excited about it, and pretty good sports about being flipped- Jeff doesn't believe in letting you relax on that tube.

Jared:

M and Jeff's boy riding tandem:

I had an unfortunate picture uploading experience, and lost about 50 pics. Now, most of those were either too blurry or too far away to tell who was in the picture, but there were a few I really wanted! Anyway, we stayed 'till dark, then I took all the kids back to our car and we listened to a book on CD while the other 3 grown-ups got the boat out of the water and hitched up to their vehicle. We were all pretty tired and sore come Sunday, but oh, we had a great time!

Okay, time to change subjects. W loves to get the mail, and today he got a letter addressed to him. M and H got letters, too. They were from the Utah State Fair, and each one contained a one-day pass to the fair, a coupon for a drink, another one for a carnival ride, plus a sparkly blue ribbon to congratulate them on being "a Read and Win Winner." They each had to read 10 books, and have a parent or teacher sign the form confirming that they read their books. W and M breezed through their 10 books in a week. H worked on his, and he read each one out loud to me :) Great job, buddy! They've been waiting and waiting and WAITING [not very patiently, some days] for these prizes to come.

Today, we bought new sheets for M's new bed. It's only her bed until we get visitors, then it becomes the guest bed :), but she's thrilled with it. Jared picked up the mattress and box springs on Saturday, but we had no full-sized sheets, so the bed sat in its plastic cover 'till today. That was about all the disorder I could stand :), so I set up the bed, knowing I'd have to find sheets to cover it before tonight. One more thing to check off my to-do list!

We took the kids out to the North Fields again tonight, and I cooked tinfoil dinners [hamburger patty, onion for flavor, sliced carrots and potatoes, all with butter] on the coals while Jared and the kids either read [W], or caught bugs [M], or whacked thistles with a willow wand "sword" [H]. I sat and knit, and enjoyed the cool evening silence. M came back from the river with some flowers she picked just for me, and a song she made up to accompany the gift. She can be such a sweetheart :) which absolutely makes up for when she isn't. We also had s'mores, except without graham crackers, since I forgot them. But who needs graham crackers when you can have chocolate and marshmallows?!?

One more thing: This year, to celebrate Myles' birthday, we're taking a donation of new clothing to the LDS Humanitarian Aid Center. While we don't expect participation from anybody, if you are interested, we would be honored.
*if you click on the above link, you'll go to the home page of LDS Humanitarian Services. the sidebar on the right of the page has several topics; click on "current needs" under "resources" to see what they have enough of as well as what they need more of. there are also patterns for the humanitarian kits available under "resources," most in .pdf format.

Gratitude List:
* NO NEW FIRES!!!!!
* Another chance to spend time outdoors with my family.
* Allergy shots that seem to be working :)
* Finding old friends.
* Jared's sense of humor to remind me that most things aren't as serious as I may believe.
* 3 beautiful, healthy children that I can see every day.
* 1 beautiful angel boy that I will see again someday.
* Music.
* Fresh, steamed squash from our garden [and my FIL's garden], served with butter and a bit of salt. YUMMY.
* School starts next Tuesday. :) and there was much rejoicing.
* Meditation time in the morning.
* I am so grateful that death is not the end; that I will see all the people I love again.
* There are some trees on the mountain outside my living room window that are changing colors. Beautiful.

And yes, I am still planning to post pics of my new haircut. Really. I'm just waiting for a copy of the family pics we took 2 weeks ago. Promise.