I've been

a little under the weather.  It's been plenty busy this week, with celebrating Natalie's birthday and going to some women's conference classes.  But, as I told Tom on the phone, I think I've been having sympathy pains for him. All I feel like doing, when I don't have something I have to do, is nothing.   And that pretty much sums it up.

 I'm hoping to get our of this feeling of being sick and tired very soon.   Sometimes it feels like, and is, a luxury to crawl into bed and pull the covers over your head.  But it doesn't do you or anyone else much good.  So, here's to better and more enthusiastic days this week.  And simpler ones.  And more accomplished ones. And less stressful ones.  And less judgemental ones,  And more directed ones.  And a more positive attititude.  And now I know why I want to crawl into bed and pull the covers ove my eyes., because I don't want to make all those decisions.    Sometimes things just take more energy that you have.    Well I'm off to bed, which doesn't take too much energy.   

"Stinking Cute"

I had to share this email from Tiffany:

"Annie just brought home this writing assignment and it is so stinking cute I had to share it with you! Of course it's cuter in her own handwriting but I'll spell everything the same as she did. She was supposed to think of a place she likes to visit and explain why she likes to go there. This is what she said:

I love to go to my grandmo's house. she love to make cupcak's and she has deckrushin's that look like cup cakes's. She is upsest (obsessed) with cupcake's. and I miss her so much. She lives in Youto"

Can't get a lot sweeter than that!

The revolving poster.   This magnet board has served me well for the last few years.  It has had many lives and has reinvented itself many times.   You might say it has multipe personalities.   Here are the last ones. 

Well,

Tom is doing well, but still in a lot of pain.  They ended up doing 5 bypasses.  It is a miracle to me that he had no indication that he had so much blockage. It makes me realize that, considering my family history, I should have a heart work-up.   Richard has had several stints put in.  Dad had his first bypass surgery at my age and another 10 years later.  My grandfather Hall died of a heart attack in his 50's.   Wow, this is getting depressing. 

The  last two days I've been running around like crazy for my job.  Picking up yarn, pop, envelopes, driving to Syracuse to pick up cakes, and making waffle cones.  Then this morning I was helping set up for the bridal shower photo shoot.  It was beautiful.  Once Loralee posts it on her blog, I'll show the pictures. 

So now I'm sitting here in my recliner resting for a bit.  

I don't like this

at all.  In the last few months, all three of my brothers have had major health scares.  Richard had a major heart attack in November with accompanying stent replacements.  Gary had the major episode in December where we thought we would never have him back with us. 

Tuesday night I got a text from Lynn, Tom's wife, telling us that Tom had chest pains the night before and went by ambulance to the hospital.  The tests the next day showed just a slight abnormality in his stress test, so they went in and did an angiogram.  What they came back with was that he has major blockages in many places in his heart.  Some are 100% blocked, 99% blocked, and 80 to 90% blocked.  The Dr. said he was lucky he hadn't had a massive heart attack.

So right now he is having open heart surgery for 4 to 5 bypasses.  I'm waiting for word on how it went.  As I said  before, I don't like this at all.

 I've been thinking of Mom and Dad and feel sure that they are near and close to what is happening in our lives.

We took Misty and Tiffany up

to the airport on Monday. The house has been very quiet since then.  We had such a good time together and loved that Natalie was able to take a day off and spend most of the time with us.  As we watched season one and season two of the PBS series "Downton Abbey" (about 18 hours worth), we made (or for the most part, Tiffany made) a whole bunch of table runners and laminated placemats.  

The runners worked together very quickly, and the placemats did, also.   Here are the instructions for the runners Skinny Runner.  Here is the link for the placemats  Laminated Wipeable Placemats

Bunny Hollow

catch up.  So far we have been able to stay pretty close to our itineraries. 

 Misty a perm and Tiffany a cut on Thursday morning. 




 Lunch at "Molley's."  Home to get started on our numerous sewing activities.  5 pm "Hunger Games"  Dinner.  Started series one of "Downton Abbey," which we stayed up until 1 am watching.

Shirt Tiffany made (she ended up taking some of the ruffles off)

Meeting up with family at the Trax station in Salt Lake to see the new "City Creek Center" in Salt Lake (pretty amazing).

Saturday:  Breakfast at Maglebys.  Pedicures and Manicures.  Can you tell whose hands are whose? Shopping.

Dinner at Brick Oven

More projects and Downton Abbey.

P.S.  To answer your question, Dan, I don't think we would be doing any of these activities.  Maybe we would be shopping at Cabelas.

Bunny Hollow

Bed and Breakfast  has officially begun!     

 

We picked up Misty and Tiffany within 45 minutes of each other.

Then we met Natalie and Trent at Texas Roadhouse for dinner.

Then we came home and started right off checking out the crafts

and wondering what colors of table runners and placemats

they want to make.

(the family room is a temporary craft room during Bunny Hollow)

Gary was taking it all of this subliminarly.

It's so nice to be together! 

 Natalie has taken Friday off, so she will spend the night

 here tommorrow and be with us all day Friday and Saturday. 

The Marilyn

Method.  Tonight is the first time I've heard that term. 

We went to dinner with Natalie and Trent and got into a discussion about customer support, which Natalie does on the phone and through messaging, and which a deal with a little bit in emails.  We were discussing how, even in emails and messaging, you can tell what someone's attitude is by how they write, and many times don't write, in their messages.  With some people you can just tell that they need to be in charge, be right, or come across as the more knowledgeable one. 

As we were talking, Natalie told about a work associate that she deals with only in messaging (she is in another state).  This work associate is usually very rude and has a know-it-all attitude toward Natalie in her messages.  Natalie has talked with a friend at work about how obnoxious this person is.  So she was very surprised when she observed her friend's messages with this same woman. 

First of all, Nat said that this friend is very intelligent and knowledgeable.  Yet in his messaging to that associate, he wrote like he was helpless and didn't know what to do.  Nat was even more surprised when this rude associate responded back to her friend with all sorts of help and smiley faces in her message.   When she expressed her disbelief to him, he told her that uses the "Marilyn Method," with that associate. 

It took us a minute to realize that the "Marilyn Method," was penned after Marilyn Monroe.   I don't know if Marilyn Monroe was or acted  helpless, but there were certainly a lot of men who were ready to be with her (and come to her rescue?)

 Interesting approach.  I think we all use that method at times (that is if we can put our pride aside). I've just never looked at, our thought of it, as a "method." 

 Hmm.  I think I may use the Marilyn Method a little more with Gary.  

I'll let you know how it goes.

It's almost here!

Bunny Hollow Bed and Breakfast opens a week from today!  This will be our 3rd annual Girls (and Gary) retreat, where Misty and Tiffany come to visit.  This is the first year that there will not be a baby coming, as Lucienne and Marshall have grown up.    That is sad for me but very nice for them.

 I've asked the girls to pin on pinterest ideas for crafts they would like to do when they are here.  So yesterday I copied them down and went on a mission to get supplies.

Two years ago we were into the Burnt Edge Flower craze.  And it was crazy!  Last year we made key fobs.  That was actually a little less time consuming but was not as therapeutic or brainless as the flowers.  This year it seems to be focusing on sewing projects.

 Things like this:

 

and this

(laminated placemats)

and these

Ruffle Magic from T-shirts (these look a little intimidating)

So, instead of cleaning my very neglected house, I am experimenting with some of these projects.  That is much more fun!

PS:  I will definitely clean my fridge, though, because Misty and Tiffany are fridge snobs!

Advice in

two words.  Sometimes that is the advice we remember the most. 

When Spencer W. Kimball was President of the church his motto was "Do It."   It covers a broad range of things.  Things we put off and say we will do later.  Changes we need to make in ourselves.  Doing what we know is right even when we don't want to.  It adds a little more punch if you add one more word, "Just Do IT."  Sometimes that is the very hardest thing for me to do, as I can usually find plenty of excuses not to.

Today in General Conference, President Uchtdorf spoke of jealously, envy, gossip,  revenge, judgment, contention, and criticism.  His two word solution was, "Stop It."   Of course he spoke more eloquently and gave examples of how we can do that.  But to just mentally say to ourselves, "Stop it," when we start going down the road of negativity,  judgement, and tearing others down, can be pretty effective. 

So, "Do It," and "Stop It." pack a lot of punch.   Now I just hope that I don't get confused and say "Do It" when I should be saying "Stop It" and vice versa.