Great Accomplishment!!!!!

The Two Sterling Scholars

The other night I was driving home chatting with Debbie on the phone and she said "Have you heard about Sarah????!!" I said "NO what?" Debbie said "She made the President's Honor Roll at University of Wyoming!!!"
I am so proud of Sarah for her hard work in college. She has been getting good grades for the last 4 years but to nail straight A's her senior year is incredible. Working a job and going to school full time and playing (just a little) is fantastic.
Our surrogate daughter Kelsie Inchauspe, Sarah's best friend, also accomplished the same honor.
Great job ladies... way to have fun and make it happen as well. We are so proud!!!! Love you

mini vacation!

Sam, Brock and I took a mini vacation to St. George, Utah.. It was UNBELIEVABLE weather and it was a lot of fun. Sam had to work and was up and going about 5:30 a.m. and you can see that Brock and I lounged by the pool ate a lot and loved the 70 degree weather..

We did have a little bit of a "Debbie moment". We had Mexican food and I had some fish tacos or something like that. So we start heading home and stop at a Maverik and I go to the bathroom and walk out and Brock is looking at me really strange and says.. "What is on your face?" I said to him. "I don't know but my faces really itches." at this moment Sam comes over to me and said.. "OMH, lets get you some benadryl..." he is running to the medicine and opening the package as fast as he could.

I obviously had an allergic reaction to something I ate.. I have NEVER had an allergic reaction before... but as we all know if you hang out with me long enough you should expect EVERYTHING to happen in a matter of time!

Now I am waiting for our REAL vacation to Cartegna, Colombia.. 3 weeks.. WOOT WOOT.

I hated this place.. It is some kind of dinosaur grave yard... Yeah right it was a bunch of rocks that had some marks in them.. I expected the entire dinosaur..

formaldehyde

It's INEVITABLE.. You have to trade your old car in on a new car even though you don't want to. You have enjoyed so much NOT having a car payment but you have started to notice that you are paying more on maintenance on the old clunker than you would on a new shiny model. Well.... this is how I feel about aging, and I kind of start understanding how the hell hard it is for a women in her 40's to "keep up" with her once slender, non hairy, non stretch mark, non grey hair self.
So as I sat and got a manicure today I realize the last year has been a WORLD WIND for me trying to make this old clunker like new. I am the FIRST to admit I am in a mid life something or another.. Crisis? I don't know but SOMETHING. I turn 40 this year and however I LOVE where I am emotionally, spiritually, with my family, husband, etc. etc. etc.. I would NOT go back to my 20's for nothing because I love who I have become the last couple years. A more polished classier version of my old self. However what I would do with a body of a 20 year old.. DUDE, WHAT SAM WOULD DO WITH A BODY OF A 20 YEAR OLD WOMAN. HA.
So as I pay the amount of a small country in the South Pacific to preserve what is left of my skin, body, hair, etc... I wonder what I am going to try next.. maybe formaldehyde!!

Is that my Underwear?????

I get up yesterday morning and think to myself. I am just going to put these yoga pants that I wore the night before that were laying on my floor in our bedroom. So I jump in those yoga pants pull my hair back and head to the gym. I walk into the gym and there are two body builder type men lifting weights and I hang my coat up, get my ipod and head to the treadmill. I am walking on the treadmill with a couple other women and was watching the women that was vacuuming the floor and cleaning the machines.. I notice something in the middle of the floor relatively close to the two body building men that were lifting weight. It looks like a rag bundled up that someone had dropped and I am staring at it about the same time one of the body builders starts walking over to it..

ABOUT THIS TIME IT HITS ME LIKE A TON OF BRICKS.. OMG, they are my underwear that I had wore the night before!!! Obviously when I put on my yoga pants the underwear I had on the day before was in the leg of my yoga pants and now has dropped out in the middle of the gym. SHOOT ME!!! NOW.

The man that was walking over to the underwear picks them up and yells.. "these are somebodies drawers"..

"OMG"

So as I was telling Sam the story above he said to me.. Did you tell the guy that they were yours???
I think we all know the answer to that.. "I DIDN'T SAY A WORD"..
*UGH.

letting go...

Lets talk about the old saying "Love you kids enough to give them wings" shall we?

Well this does NOT make sense to me..

"Love them enough to go into the big bad World and make the same mistake's (and Maybe WORSE) and not open my big fat mouth and tell them my opinion?"

Do the people that made this "Word to the Wise" know me??? AT ALL?

Ya, I didn't think so.

Cassidi turns 19 years old this week and she is studying to become a Registered Nurse. She is going to school at Weber State FULL TIME... Working FULL time as a CNA caregiver to the elderly, and playing full time.

The opportunity has come up for Cassidi to study abroad this summer. Yep, OUT OF THE COUNTRY.. With no Mom to lecture her and take care of her and feed her and love her and make sure she is wearing earings, and lipstick. Just her and the big bad country of Costa Rica.

So guess what.. this over protective Mom is sending her daughter to the Caribbean to study and learn to become bilingual OUT OF THE COUNTRY.. HOLY COW..

So please help me as images of her meeting some Latin Lover, never coming back to the States, opening some beach bar, never owning a pair of shoes again, growing dread locks, and my grand babies will speak Spanish rather than English flash through my head...

I LOVE "LETTING GO!!!!"

Last week in pictures...

Once every couple of months we like to go to Sugarhouse in Salt Lake City. We love that area and we like to go to Fat's Grill and play pool with Brock. He loves to play and is getting better each time we go.



Earlier in the week we took Brock bowling at Boondocks in Kaysville. We love coming here and playing around a bit and its only 5 minutes from our house so its quick entertainment. As you can see from the first pic... Debbie thought she could beat me... she almost had it. (the W is short for Wanda.. her new nickname lol)







Brock has been playing Basketball with the boys in his "Ward" Thursday nights but its the boys in his Boy Scouts that is the team. He has been begging us to come see and he finally had an early game and we went and LOVED IT. We wish we would have went to all the late games as well. Brock was the biggest scorer of his team with 8 points and they won. Great job Brock!!






Friday we did our typical Hockey game at the Maverik Center with Jeff Courter and family. (no pics this time :( )
To finish the fun week off we went out with some friends on Saturday night to
The Melting Pot in Salt Lake City. Its great food if you like Fondue and a fun atmosphere. Jerry and Nancy Couch with Jeff and Melissa Arnold.

Tip Tuesday!!!

Every one that has been in my house knows I am kinda OBSESSED with clean baseboards.
OBSESSED..
I mean seriously have a problem. I use to clean baseboards almost every single day.. Yeah I need a 12 step program to get past this. However, since my head injury one of my lingering problems is I cant bend over or put my head down for any amount of time or I get dizzy, I get sick to my stomach because I am dizzy, and than I throw up (honestly I really don't think that will ever go away) any now my obsession of baseboards have taken a back seat to my injury. SO I give Brock a thing of Clorox wet wipes and he cleans my baseboards for me. Cassidi will even clean baseboards for me.. So get a tube of Clorox wet wipes and experience the simple bliss of clean baseboards!!

Fast Offerings!

As most of you know I was raised Mormon, and Sam was NOT!!! I still harbor some "Mormon Guilt" and the story belows will tell you a kinda of humorous story about living in a Mormon world and the guilt that I harbor!!!

On the first Sunday of each month Mormons have what they call Fast Sunday. After church they send two young adult males around to collect Fast Offerings. This is money used for various things in the church (yes on top of the tithing that is so notorious with the Mormon religion). So these young men come to your door and give you an envelope and you put money in it and they leave, end of story. Sam and I have NEVER had them come for Fast Offerings.
Sunday Sam and I were in our front room taking down our Christmas, and sure enough I looked outside and two boys about Brocks age were walking up the side walk. and this is how our conversation went.

deb: "Oh, It's Fast Offerings."
sam: "WTH IS FAST OFFERINGS?"
deb: "you give them money"
sam: "FOR WHAT?"
deb: "I think for things needed in the ward"
sam: "like what?"

Sam then opens the door and they hand him the envelope and Sam says to them. "I am sorry I don't have anything right now." and he send them on their way..

WELL this sent a rush of anxiety through me like I had just ran over a batch of small kittens.

deb: "YOU CAN'T JUST NOT GIVE THEM MONEY!!!"
sam: "I just did."
deb: "I will go to hell, or we will die in a firey crash or something terrible"
sam: "ARE YOU SERIOUS!!"
deb: "yes, Sam I have HUGE guilt over this"

at this point Sam is looking at me like I have 3 heads. He said I will grab some cash and run it over to them. I told him he could not do that either that it will freak them out..

*Please keep in mind as you read this we live in a neighborhood that is about 95% Mormon and they don't EVER deal with people that aren't aware of ANYTHING about the Mormon religion.

So Sam puts on his shoes and gets some cash and keeps looking at me and saying.. "YOU ARE SERIOUSLY BOTHERED BY THIS".. I then explain to him how those boys are Brocks age and we have had a hard enough time "fitting in" in this Mormon town and Brock goes to Boy Scouts with these kids and how strange it has to be for them to have someone just send them away and how Brock is ostracized to begin with for not being Mormon and etc., etc., etc., etc., blah, blah, blah, etc..
Well at this point there Sam stands in his pajamas with his tennis shoes on looking at me like I had just explained to him the theory of evolution. He said to me. "so what would you like me to do?"
deb: "nothing it is to late now!!!!"

Sam still standing there with his cash in his hand looks out the window and chases the poor boys down and pays them FAST OFFERINGS..

So everyone will be happy that I am not going to hell!!

Perks!!!

One of the most fun things about Sam's job is the perks... The fringe benefits. It's a fabulous place to work and they really do treat their employees GREAT. We get tickets to ALOT of stuff. Hockey, Concerts, College Sports, Professional Sports, almost everything!!! However nothing really beats the tickets we had last night. We went to the Anheuser busch Hospitality Suite at the Energy Solution Center. Not only was the suite the most gorgeous suite we had been in, they had diner, appetizers, and dessert, and all you can drink BEER.. the Budweiser people were truly great to us! Does it get better?? Brock was in HEAVEN!!
I am a stalker.. At the Jazz game Ryan Seacrest and Julianne Hough were there. This entertained me TO DEATH!!! (below) she is in the black striped shirt he is to the left. DUDE!!

New Years Resolutions!!

It is so much easier for me to make others peoples New Year Resolutions for them than it is to make ANY for me.. Why is that?
Here is a few pictures of our New Years Eve..

We went to Preston, Idaho and stayed at my Dad's house for a couple days. Not only was it fabulous and my Dad and Judy made me feel completely at home, I did not want to leave. The above picture is of one of my life long besties, Alison, and a friend Brandon.
Voted by my friends as a member of the "ELITE HUSBAND GROUP", Sam, looks great and handsome even in pink. Love this guy!!

Michele, Alison and I grew up across the street from each other. Some of my best times have been with these girls. We are at Linda's house Alison and Michele's Mom.. GOOD TIMES!

My Dad to the left, and my sister, Michelle, to the right. Obviously I was very captivating because they are both obviously engaged with other peeps.

My cousin Sally, her boyfriend, Jay and I had to be in the picture..

SWEET... *mental note! when going to Idaho for New Years eve and taking 20 people to the Elks lodge don't EVER volunteer to be the designated driver!!! especially when they are playing 80's heavy metal and they are smoking like a chimney in the lodge, and it -20 in Idaho. It was a VERY long night and I learned my lesson well. Alcohol would have made the night much easier!

Sarah stayed with us for about 10 days. I hated to see her go home. We are so proud of Sarah and she is officially a teacher, she started yesterday.. YOU GO GIRL.. I think my Dad fell IN LOVE with Sarah. He was so so so impressed with her.

Good good times!!!