013110 No turning back....

This is the rug in Debbie's family room! Everyone else had gone to bed and I was sitting on the couch checking my email and reading posts on Facebook. It was then that I realized I hadn't taken a photo yet for today...so this is the photo I took from the couch! Earlier in the day I'd gotten all ready to go to church and drove out to the church building in Apopka. When I got there the parking lot was totally empty! I figured it must be their Stake Conference, so decided to head back to Debbie's to see how to get to the ward that met at 1:00pm. On the way back to the house I thought I should have taken a photo of that church building and the empty parking lot for my photo of the day....but at this point so late at night, there is no turning back time to capture that photo or any others from this day for that matter! So here it is...Debbie's rug! I love Debbie's rug! Debbie's rug will hold many memories for all of us who spent an awesome weekend with her at her house (including one of the un-named ladies who was apparently playing her own version of Twister on this rug!)!!

013010 Army Moms in Orlando!

Here we are--The Big Girl Panty Brigade!! (except Cheryl Barton who is taking the photo) Back row: Debbie Quinter, Sandy Parson, Diane Ortman, Karen Berry, and me, Front row: Vicki Groll, Debbie Britt, and Vickie Cheek. This is the first time for me to meet Debbie Q, Sandy, Debbie B, and Cheryl, but I'd already met Karen, Vicki, and Vickie in Paducah, Kentucky in September 2006; and Diane and I have met a couple of times for lunch when she's traveled to Livermore from Southern California for her job. We are having an awesome time together and I'm so glad I was able to make this trip!

012910 Our Hostess with the Mostest!

We are here at Debbie's in Orlando, Florida--I can't believe I'm really here!! Debbie is so sweet to open her home to a group of us Army Moms that all met online many years ago! Thank you so much Debbie for letting us all come and hang out together at your house!

012810 Double Duty in Denver

Soooo......on my short layover in Denver I went to use the Ladies' Room, and this is what I saw as I entered! Apparently the airport restrooms have a dual function here in Denver!

012710 Apparently my new favorite store

This is the store where I recently purchased my 3 new pairs of shoes. I say it's apparently my new favorite store because this is the store in town where I suppose I'm going to have to purchase shoes from now on due to my foot problems! I sure hope they have some cute sandals I can wear later in the year because I'm not going to survive if I have to wear socks and closed toed shoes all summer!!!

012610 Speaking of old uniforms......

.......this is my mom's Girl Scout uniform! I found it in the closet along with my old uniforms, and had forgotten I had it. I don't know any details of when she was in Girl Scouts, but I'm guessing she had to be 8 or 10 years old when she wore this. She would have been 8 years old in 1944. The small patch above the pocket on the left is a red rose, and there is a patch on the left arm that says Salt Lake City with the number 27 below it.....Girl Scout Troop 27 in SLC is my guess!

012510 Ulumanu

While packing for my trip to Florida today, Donny brought this in to the bedroom to show me what he had been given by his Infantry squad in Hawaii before he left last June. It's a Polynesian War Club known as an Ulumanu (which means bird or hook). It's 18 1/2" long and 6" at the widest part of the hook. This is what's engraved on the attached piece of wood:

SGT. D. Mathie
For outstanding service and leadership
TEAM X-RAY
1st SQD, 3rd PLT, Cco 1/27 IN

It also came with a little piece of paper that says:

"One of the most effective war clubs found in all of Polynesia. The hook was used to trap arms and legs. The sharp point was used to strike and tear at the temple, stomach or chest. The back of the hook was used to crack at the opponent's skull or to break any bones in the body.
The designs carved on the ulumanu are traditional Polynesian motifs found on tapa and body tattoo."

Pretty gruesome those Polynesian warriors were, I'd say! Pretty cool gift from his squad I'd say too!

012410 Always!

Today Karen Romney gave the lesson in Relief Society. It was based on the Ensign article entitled " Moral Discipline" by D. Todd Christofferson. She used a scripture from the New Testament--John 8:29, beginning with the word 'for': "...for I do always those things that please him." This is the Savior referring to his father, God the Father, telling the Jews that God had sent him, He had not left him alone, and that he *always* does those things that please the Father. Karen made the point that we should use this principle in the way we live our lives too--that we should try to *always* remember to say our prayers or read our scriptures or be kind to others all the time, *always*! We shouldn't make excuses and she gave some examples: "I will *always* read my scriptures...except when I'm in a hurry and have to leave in the morning; or I will *always* say my prayers...except when I'm just too tired at night and need to go right to sleep." She made these cookies for us and asked that before we ate the cookie (or gave it to someone else to eat) that we'd make a commitment to improve at least one thing in our lives in order to grow closer to *always* doing those things we know we should be doing. In doing so, we will also be pleasing the Savior, and like him, pleasing Heavenly Father!

012310 New Shoes

So I got some new shoes today. They are really not my style, but when you have Plantar Fasciitis, you do what you have to do.....I'm used to wearing sandals and going barefooted around the house. Apparently this is not a good thing to do when you have Plantar Fasciitis. So I got these shoes, that were on sale, but still quite expensive...I really don't like paying close to $100 or more for shoes...but you do what you have to do when you have Plantar Fasciitis...or live with the pain, and I was done doing that! This has been going on for months...since before Young Women Camp in July, and I was in excruciating pain at Disneyland in August. Enough is enough! So I hope these expensive shoes (and the other 2 pair I got) help!

012210 Traffic

Due to an accident on I-580 in Livermore, it took me 2 hours to drive 12 miles through Livermore today. All together it took 2 hours and 45 minutes to get to Aunt Emily's house--a drive that normally only takes an hour. I usually really *hate* traffic, but I'd heard on the radio that this one involved a fatality, so I decided to just 'go with the flow'. For some reason, just before I left the house I grabbed the book I'm currently reading, and I actually read 3 chapters (among other things!) as I drove along in this 'stop-and-go' for those 2 hours!

012110 Featherettes

The VERY old gum was found inside the pocket of this Featherette uniform! Featherettes was our high school drill team, and the last time I wore this uniform was during the 1972-1973 school year! If I remember correctly, I was on a competition flag team after football season, so I probably wore this outfit last sometime in 1973.....that means that half stick of gum is at least 36 years old!!

You may be able to see some white threads on the front and on the arms of the garment. It used to have 3 or 4 inch white fringe up the arms and then in a V-shape down to the waist. After that year our advisor Mrs. Rosburg let us have our uniforms if we wanted them, as she was going to replace some (or all?) of them, but she made us take the fringe off so she could reuse it! (It was expensive!) The outfit looks pretty plain without the fringe, but you have to imagine the complete look....in addition to the fringe, we wore white feather Indian style headdresses, white gloves, and white Minnetonka moccasins! When I attended Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, CA our mascot was the Indians; but from what I understand, in 1996, at the request of some Native Americans, the school board changed the mascot to the Firebirds. They still have a drill team today called the Featherettes, but from what I can tell, the group is much, much smaller (only 12 girls) and they no longer wear the Indian themed outfits. ....oh, and that tag in the back near the neckline has my name on it! lol!

In trying to find a photo of the complete look of this uniform, I found a Facebook group too! So I am now a member of the *Fremont Featherette Alumni* Facebook group! (I know, I couldn't believe it either!) I hope the girl who posted the photo below on the group doesn't mind that I'm borrowing it until I can find one of my own! (Thank you Krista Dana!!) This is the '95-'96 team--apparently the last who wore the Indian style uniform. You can see they made some slight changes to it--white fabric V in the front and red trim around the neck--but this is over 20 years after 'my day', so they really didn't change it that much over all those years! The girls in the front are the captains, so their uniforms are different (opposite colors) and their headdresses were bigger and more colorful too.


"On Fremont on, we are the Indians brave and strong!
On down the field, for we will never, ever yield.
We're gonna fight to the end, ever ready to defend.
Indians red, let it be said: 'Forever, ever, ever Fremont High!"!!!!!
(fight song!--I can still do the hand motions for it!)

012010 VERY Old Gum!

So this is what I found in the pocket of a garment the other day.... Because of the specific garment I found these in I know that this is a VERY old piece of gum! Sometimes 1 photo is not enough to tell the story, so I think I'll post a photo of the garment tomorrow. Until then, any guesses as to how old this gum is or in what garment I found it?!!

011910 Rainbow!

I wasn't going to take my camera today when I went out to run errands, but I'm glad I did! There were actually 2 rainbows, but the secondary one wasn't as brilliant or as pretty as this one.

011810 Interesting Sights!

So, it's not very often you see a fish head laying on a neighborhood street! I suppose it won't be the last *interesting sight* I'll see this year....

011710 It's a toss up!

It's a toss up.....where I spend WAY too much time....on Facebook or just on the computer in general!

011610 My New Book!

I got this last night on the way home from the Bay Area....gotta love Borders 33% off coupons!!

011510 Where did the sun go?.....

Where did the sun go?! It seems so dreary and *Wintery* when I go outside and see this!

011410 Lovin' the Sunshine!

Abi Cat no longer hides in the bedroom all day. Instead she has a daily routine which includes laying in the sunshine in the family room every morning! I think she's been happy to see the sun the past few days too!

011310 Larry and Bob!

Meet Larry and Bob! When I visited Mason last summer I was introduced to *Veggie Tales* and Larry and Bob. During the holidays I ordered a set of the DVD's that included these little plush characters. Isaac and Eli enjoyed playing with them and watching Veggie Tales when they were here last week! Check out this Silly Song, one of my faves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtHr7gluh08

011210 Jana @ Tangles!

I got my hair cut today and asked Jana if she'd be willing to be my photo of the day today!! Jana has been my stylist for over 6 years....we couldn't determine exactly how long, but we know it's been more than 6 years! She first cut my hair at Super Cuts on 11th Street, then I followed her to the newer Super Cuts by Home Depot when she opened the store as the manager. When she left Super Cuts I followed her to Garnet's and then to her present location at Tangles on 10th Street. Recently I found out some of my friends at church also see Jana on a regular basis! Does Jana cut your hair too? Do you have a *regular* stylist? (PS--Jenice, if you're reading this, I STILL miss you doing my hair after 25 years!)

011110 Meeting our baby sister Hannah Grace!

They weren't so sure about holding her, but they'll get better with practice! When we arrived they changed out of their "rockstar" shirts and into their "Big Brother" shirts. (Rockstar hair designs courtesy of Auntie Natalie!)

011010 Our last night at Nana's!

Not sure why Isaac is holding onto Eli's ear??! They were tired and not real excited about taking photos!

010910 After 7 days of tending the grandsons.....

I think the photo says it all......!!

010810 Goin' Bananas!!

Today Curtis and I took Issac and Eli to the indoor play place in Lathrop called "Go Bananas". Eli was asleep when we got there so it took him a little while to get going. I finally got him to jump on this bouncy house by himself after I'd taken him on a bigger one in the other room. In there we held hands and jumped up and down, reciting over and over: "Go bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s"!! I tried to get a photo of Eli and Isaac together in this one right before we left, but couldn't get a good shot. (Isaac is seen climbing out of the bouncy in this photo!)

010710 RIP SSG David Gutierrez

Donald and I attended the funeral and military graveside services for Staff Sergeant David Gutierrez in Gilroy today. Several American flags were presented to the family members, including one to each of his 3 sons. The youngest son is holding his flag (with his grandma) while the member of the Honor Guard continues the ceremony and prepares to present the next flag. The boys were wearing Hawaiian shirts to commemorate the 5 years the family spent in Hawaii stationed at Schofield Barracks with the 25th Infantry Division. David's wife and other family members were also wearing leis during the service, and friends of David's wife wore flowers in their hair in the Hawaiian style. (note: the woman next to Grandma is not David's wife--I think perhaps it's his sister)

010610 My Gift from Donny!

Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook--my Christmas gift from Donny! In the photo from yesterday, that was a cupcake paper at the bottom of the ribbon!

010510 Guess my Gift!

It was difficult to capture this in a photo, but this is my creative Christmas gift from Donny! The square is the top of the gift box stuck flat on the cabinet door. Inside the box top a ribbon is attached with the other two parts stuck on the ribbon so when I opened the box the photo came out first, then the thing at the bottom! Can you guess what I got from Donny?!

010410 The Frog Potty

Natalie helped me unload the car last night when Isaac and Eli came to stay, but she refused to carry in the potty...Instead she was heard saying: "I'm NOT touching that...and I'm not even kidding!"

010310 Hannah Grace

Welcome to the World Hannah Grace!! Collage of baby Hannah made by the NICU nurses at Alta Bates Hospital, Berkeley, CA

010210 Sweater

A close up of the sweater I wore to Jennifer's baby shower. It's a little *loud* for me--I don't like to draw attention to myself!

010110 Frosty the Snowpuddle

Mason and I made these when he was here. He ate his right away, but I 'saved' mine. On New Year's Day I was getting ready to toss it, but didn't *have the heart*...so Frosty the Snowpuddle became photo 1 of 365!