No autographs please

Sorry, adoring fans.  I am too tired for autographs today.

http://starwars.jibjab.com/view/MH8cGUMsUjhElFuV

Sometimes, that is just how I roll baby!  :)  If I didn't pluck, I might just have that moustache...
Enjoy and happy 30th Anniversary George Lucas.  Thank the Maker.

"Slipping through my fingers..."

Mr. Fun's Dad (the ABBA Fan) played a song for

the youngest sister on the day she graduated

from high school.  His gift?

An ABBA song of course.

We have had a good chuckle about that moment

for lots of years and decided to do it for our

girl when her day came.

Slipping Through My Fingers...

by ABBA.  :)

Enjoy this photo journey of The Girl

girl--age 6 weeks

That funny little girl

age 2--in her Barney Phase

First day of Kindergarten

Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning

Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile

I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness

And I have to sit down for a while

The feeling that I'm losing her forever

And without really entering her world

First school year...

this little girl Lindsey was killed

last year in a car accident...she was 16

Family shot in SLC

Family shot in Missouri--

I looked much better in my 30's

The Girl loves her some rescue pets...

Sunday graduation

The first day of the rest of her life...

beginning yesterday.  :)

Bob the Builder Award: Mother Teresa and her "thirst"

It's not what you think.

Mother Teresa is not a Bob the Builder because of what she did for humanity.  As Ben Franklin said in his autobiography, there is much written about her works in other accounts. 

This is a blog about what you DON"T know about her. 

She didn't wake a saint every morning.  She had some help getting there.

She seems like she had a stubborn streak in her.  Didn't always take well to authority.  Hummmm...it is all sounding a bit familiar.  Maybe that is why I like her.  Maybe that is why she ushered in so much change.

Some little facts you didn't know about Mother Teresa until now:

Mother Teresa started out as a teacher.  "I am a teacher, and I love the work.  I am also the Head of the whole school and everybody wishes me well, " she wrote her mother.  Mom:  "Dear child, do not forget that you went to India for the sake of the poor."  Translation:  get over yourself and stick to your plan.

Rule breaker.  "One day there was no food to feed the teachers and the hundreds of girls at the school.  Mother Teresa broke the enclosure rules and walked out of the nunnery to find food.  The day she choose to do this happened to be the day of one of the worst riots in Calcutta history.  She was shocked and horrified by the gore an the violence, but persevered and found some rice.  She had to be escorted back to the convent by police."

She listened to the Still Small Voice.  One September 10th, 1946 MT heard a voice calling her to start a new order based on two words of scripture:  "I thirst."  John 19:28.  Her big boss, the Archbishop, didn't agree.  He wanted her order to be organized as lay people, not as nuns.  She disagreed.  Eventually she was forced to write a letter to Rome in the manner the Archbishop wanted her to.  Apparently the Still Small Voice agreed with her because her letter never arrived to Rome and she organized the way she originally intended.

Holy cow, she was strict.  For the sisters in her order--"Our rigorous poverty is our safeguard.  In order to understand and help those who have nothing, we must live like them" and she meant it.  They only used cold water to wash.  They cleaned their teeth with ashes from the kitchen stove.  They were allowed a small piece of soap to wash themselves and their saris."  They were not allowed to speak to each other all day.  They were only allowed to speak in English, even though most of the nuns were Indian.  Their saris, the plain white with blue trim, were the cheapest she could find in the local market bizarre.

My two favorite quotes:"God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try."

"At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.  We will be judged by, "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me.  I was homeless and you took me in."  Hungry not only for bread--but hungry for love.  Naked not only for clothing--but naked of human dignity and respect.  Homeless not only for want of a home of bricks--but homeless because of rejection." 

I heard a quote once:  Well-behaved women seldom make history.  Who knew Mother Teresa fit the mold?  :)  Here is a toast to misbehaving chicks...

Just turn the radio up

I am sad to report that the All Powerful Green Truck is feeling it's age and 171,000 miles.  Rumor is that it might die at any time, but for the moment, it is still "truckin'" along....(pun intended).  :)

It has had a check up and the mechanical folks I know say they can't fix it until it is all the way broken.

Since it probably only worth about $34.87, I doubt we will invest in a major repair for it.  It is like watching an old friend get sicker and sicker.

We bought that little truck 8 years ago, with the idea it might last two or three years at most.  I see everything after that as a bonus.  Like living three years longer with your cancer diagnosis.

Recently I was cruisin' along, giving Tom A a ride and there was a new sort of strange sound coming from its enginey area.  "That's new," I said.  As I strained to hear the sound, Tom leaned over and turned the radio up. 

I was perplexed.

"Why did you do that?  I am trying to hear the noise," Val

"Why?" Tom

"Why?  That is a strange question.  I want to hear the noise."  Val

"Can you fix it?" Tom

"No" Val

"You know the truck is dying.  You know it makes sounds.  You don't have the skills to fix it even if you heard the sound.  Why upset yourself?  Just turn the radio up (to drown it out)."  Tom

I have given his idea a lot of thought in the last several days.

How often do I strain to hear a "sound" that isn't going to help me?  How often do I look, consciously or otherwise, for sounds that don't build me, but actually distract me or hurt me?  I can't tell you what the traffic was doing at the moment I heard the sound because I was too focused on the sound.  Distracted driving?  No good.

How many of those sounds have I really been able to fix on my own?  Not too many.  Maybe none at all.

Mr. Fun has an amazing Great Aunty who once told me something.  She believes that there are four major veins of struggles we as humans seem to go through.  Repeating "sounds" that burden us and distract us from the direction we are heading: 
*Prblems with our spouse
*Problems with our children/parents
*Money problems
*Problems with others we are not related to

I have thought about our conversation for almost 20 years and I absolutely believe my greatest pains and burdens are my problems I have had with others I am not related to. 

I guess the point of all this rambling is that perhaps my answers lie is simply just turning the radio up.  Staying focused on what the big picture is.  The point being is that I should be happy that the truck is still running.  It works, here and now.  I should let go of the sounds in my life that don't build, don't sustain or make me feel like the daughter of a Heavenly Father I want to feel like.

Wanna take a field trip: Happy Birthday Boy Scouts

Took a little ride to the city the evening...

what a wonderful evening for a stroll.

2010 is the 100 year anniversary of the Boy Scout Organzation.

We know a couple things about scouting in Andersonville.

Mr. Fun is a Eagle Scout.

Mr. Fun's dad is an Eagle Scout.

Mr. Fun's grandfather is an Eagle Scout.

The Boy is on his way to being an Eagle Scout.

In honor of the 100 year anniversary,

Norman Rockwell paintings are taking a field trip

to 12 cities across the country. 

Kansas City is was one of them.

I had to go.

I have this freaky thing about seeing paintings up close.

See the brush strokes.  It is like I am talking to the artist directly.

Friends, meet Norman.  Norman, meet us...

It was held at the Liberty Memorial World War I Museum.

After days of rain...it cleared up just for us.

A great quality of the Scouting program....

rolling up their sleeves and going to work.

Notice how the Le Fleur looks like angel wings.

Wouldn't it be nice?

About a month ago, I was at a local cafe.

Yummy soup.  Yummy sea salt chips.

But really what struck me was the nametags.

As you can see, I met Alesha.

Her passions are people and mustangs.

Her other passion is not getting her photograph

taken by a perfect stranger.

I have always been a fan of the nametag,

Ever since I was a little girl, my dad would

address everyone who served us in public by their name.

Thanks to their nametag.

I picked up the habit. 

My kids hate it.

Once I was at a camp with a lots of people

for several days. 
No nametags.  So I made my own

out of duct tape everyday. 

I was wondering what if we all had nametags

we wore around everyday, what would they say?

What if they were kind of like mood rings?

For example:
My name is Happy To See The Sunshine.

My passions today are seeing original

Norman Rockwell paintings and

buying a rock with chinese writing for the garden.

Yesterday:

My name is Cranky.

My passions today include not

strangling someone and trying to

sleep in as long as possible.

Next week:
My name is Unbelievable.

My passions include

watching my daughter graduate from

high school and buying her a car.

I bet we could all get along better if we

wore name tags that were

like mood message conveyors.

Wouldnt' it be nice?

The Backyard

We have been doing a lot of backyard work.

Fish, rocks, planting.

I got tired so I just spent two days in the hospital.

No word yet what it is...

No, it isn't stress.  If it was, I would have

been hospitalized three years ago.

King Kong and Sharkey

I love Kong's scales

Ants love Peonies

I liked the softness of the petals

The pond is clean right now...come and visit.

Iris in the rain garden

My new frog Newman

Bob the Builder Award: Enchanted Makeovers (this one is for you Cheryl)

I believe that when some of you read this, you will RUN RUN RUN to join the work of this non-profit group. 

As a matter of fact, it will be almost as exciting as finding out that Gerard Bulter has a Celtic sink in his loft-mansion...and I am not joking.  To learn more about Gerard's kickin pad go here: 
http://kckanenwishers.blogspot.com/2010/05/my-dream-home-in-pictures.html

I LOVE this idea.  Gerard might learn a thing or two from this woman, Terry Grahl.

Terry has found her niche, which I believe some of the great women I know could easily niche into as well.  An interior designer, she was asked to decorate and make over a women's/children shelter.  The rest, as they say, is history.

She has started "Enchanted Makeovers."  It is a non-profit group that specializes in interior decorating and converting shelters into beautiful living spaces. 

Don't be confused.  This isn't about a nice paint job.  There is proof that the shelters that have the make-overs have actually had women staying in their recovery programs longer, thus experiencing more success. 
Read all about their work here:

http://www.enchantedmakeovers.org/

It must be me...

This just in!

The Fattest Cities in America as reviewed by Men's Health Magazine:

Ranking
City State/ Grade

1. Corpus Christi Texas F

2. Charleston W.Va. F

3. El Paso Texas F

4. Dallas Texas F

5. Memphis Tenn. F

6. Kansas City Mo. F

7. San Antonio Texas F

8. Baltimore Md. F

9. Houston Texas D-

10. Birmingham Ala. D-

Maybe it is me...I have been to six of these cities.  Well, if you're going to be good at something, make a Top Ten List for it!

Bob the Builder Award: Amanda and the Starfish Foster Home

http://www.thestarfishfosterhome.org/

"HISTORY OF STARFISH FOSTER HOME

In September 2005, Amanda de Lange founded Starfish Children's Services to save children who have special health needs that are the most at-risk in its partner orphanages. This promptly resulted in the establishment of Starfish Foster Home (SCS) to rescue children in need of medical care by working in collaboration with local orphanges. After nursing them back to health through solid nutrition and a loving environment, Starfish Children's Services organizes and pays for the children’s surgeries before providing post-operative care. After the surgeries, the goal shifts to getting these children in the adoption pipeline so that they can join a stable, loving family.

Our Amanda recently received the highly esteemed Brigham Young University Humanitarian Award for her relentless work in building the Starfish Foster Home. We all know that Amanda is the heart and soul of the organization -- we are so proud of her and the amazing dedication she tirelessly gives to the babies. Here is a synopsis of who Amanda is and the story of the Starfish Foster Home http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RgvyokCjao "

Thanks Charity for the tip!

Wanna take a field trip? How about the farmer's market?

It was Flower Festa weekend.

Opps!  He caught me taking his picture.

You can see crazy shirts there on some pretty crazy lookin' folks.

I liked this one.

Have a great Monday.