Wonderful Christmas!

Todd and I posing for the camera!


Dad and I with a picture we received from Grandma Cook of the Savior!


Lyndon and his white shirts.
Jed and Shane


Dallen and his new shaver.


Dallen bought me some nice perfume!


We had a very wonderful Christmas. It was filled with family and the joy of grandchildren. It was fun watching them open their gifts from us. They all were so excited for Christmas and Santa Claus. We had good food and fun games and lots of visiting. We had Amber Kiffer stay with us for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We enjoyed having her here and it was a lot of fun. I think Dallen really enjoyed having her here. They stayed up Christmas Eve until 2:00 a.m.

Spencer called us about 2:00 p.m. and we all had a good time getting to visit with him. He is doing well and only has 8 months left. It is just amazing to me! We talked to him for about 2 hours.

I took down all of my decorations the day after Christmas. I was tired of it and was ready to get it all cleaned up. I had Lyndon help me and it went so much faster with his help. Now we have to get out New Years plans in order and figure out who is coming and what we are doing for that. It has been a fun holiday. Here are some pictures from Christmas day.

Wow! I am so happy!

I am so very excited and happy. I was surprised to see that at Weight Watchers I lost 3.2 pounds! It is amazing to me that I am losing weight during the holidays. My daughters said to me when I started Weight Watchers in September, "Mom, how can you possibly think of losing weight with the holidays coming?" I told them that I was going to do it for myself and that taking care of myself was the most important thing to me. I guess I proved to them and to myself that it can be done. I feel so good and it is nice to see that all my clothes are getting too big. I have two black skirts that I just love and they are both too big. I may see if I can't have someone do alterations on them when I get to my goal weight. If not I am asking Santa to let me buy new clothes after Christmas to get a new wardrobe. That would be exciting!

I found a wonderful thought that has me thinking and I think it is so true...

Don't think of "LOSING" weight. Think of "REMOVING" it.
You "LOSE" something carelessly. You "REMOVE" something
deliberately, with great care, because it is no longer
desirable and you wish to be free of it permanently. Choose
your words with care - they affect your attitude and belief
system!

I think about this all the time and it is a true statement for me! I hope to be to goal weight by the middle of January. That would be fantastic!

Pictures and fun with Wisemen and a Camel!

Our Stake Young Single Adults were doing a food drive and they had people come to the church property and in bringing food you could have your picture taken with the Wise men and a Camel. They had donkeys to pet and ride and they had a wagon with two beautiful Belgian horses to pull it. We had our picture taken and then they had activities in the building for the children. We had Erin and Delphia and Ruby with us. The girls got to make a tree ornament and color a picture. They also had hot chocolate and muffins inside to enjoy. We then went outside again, after warming up and got to go on a wagon ride. It was fun and I think that Ruby and Delphia loved it. I loved it too and would have liked to have gone on a longer ride. It was really cool. I should have gotten pictures of that too!

We had Ruby sleep over on Friday evening. She has been looking forward to it for a long time. We went to Wendy's for dinner, Ruby's choice. Then we took her to the movie "The Princess and the Frog". It was such a cute movie. I loved it and so did Ruby and Grandpa. Lyndon doesn't usually like animation, but he really enjoyed that movie and the music was great too! Then we brought Ruby home and got her tucked in bed after prayers were said and read a story to her and then it was off to dreamland. We really enjoyed having her. It is fun being grandparents! Ashley and Jed came and had lunch with us and then picked Ruby up and headed to the Romigs for the afternoon. Later that day Todd and Meg and Chloe came for a visit and it was nice to see them. We haven't seen them since Thanksgiving. Everyone's live are always so busy. Then at 5:15 p.m. Lyndon and I went to Iggy's for dinner and I had their half cobb salad. It was delicious and for being a half salad there was alot. I only ate half of that, but it was so good. Then we came home and watched Delphia while Shane and Erin went to a late birthday dinner for Shane's birthday. It was fun playing with Delphia too! We had a great day with the grandkids! This other picture is of Chloe with her cute pink hat. I thought it was adorable!

Christmas is only 15 days away!

Hurray! I have my Christmas shopping done! Now I just have to find the time to get everything wrapped. I got Spencer's Christmas sent off to him on Tuesday and it was nice to get that done. The weather is so cold. I thought I was going to freeze to death as I was out finishing my shopping this morning. We had a ward caroling activity last night and it was a lot of fun, but very cold. We went caroling and then met in one of our neighbors circles and they had barrels with fire in them to keep us warm and cups of hot chocolate and very cold doughnuts. We had a good time, but me feet were quite cold. The rest of me stayed quite warm. It had several layers on. Erin and Delphia went with Lyndon and I and she had fun too! She even tried to sing along.

I even finished my visiting teaching today and that is a good feeling to have that done. December is a busy month, but I love the holiday and all the activities.

Something about Christmas time, Something about Christmas time makes you wish it was Christmas everyday! Oh Yeah! I love that song. Thought I would just share!

More pictures!

Time to share some pictures from the past few weeks!

Weigh-in Monday!

Well I had to report my success this morning. I lost 1.2 pounds today. I wanted it to be a bit more, but a loss is good and I know as I get closer to my goal weight it may come off slower. That is o.k. I am just glad to be feeling so good in my own skin and my clothes.

I loved waking up to some snow this morning. It makes it seem more like Christmas. I love Christmas and thinking of the Savior and his birth. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ and am grateful for my knowledge of him. I have been extremely blessed this past year and need to acknowledge my Father in Heaven for blessing us so greatly.

Last night we traveled out to Eagle Mountain to have dinner with Ashley,Jed,Ruby and Emma. She had invited Lynnette and Shaun to dinner also. We stopped at Erin's first to drop some things off and to see their tree. It was fun to see them and give Delphia hugs. Then we arrived at Ashley's. The dinner was delicious and the company delightful. It was fun to see Shaun and Lynnette. They are such a cute couple and we had a good visit. It was fun to see Ruby and Emma too. They are such cute little girls and I love getting hugs from them too! We watched the First Presidency Christmas Fireside and it was wonderful. We snuggled with Emma and Ruby under blankets and while Ruby was on our laps she and Grandpa both fell asleep. It was pretty cute. Then after that was over we went upstairs and had Ruby open her birthday present from us. I think she was delighted with what we got her. Her birthday is actually today, but we celebrated a bit early with her. She is four and a cute four year old at that. It was a fun evening and we truly enjoyed ourselves.

December 5th Is A Special Day!

Today is a very special day! It is our 29th wedding anniversary! Whoo-hoo! I have had 29 amazing and wonderful years with a man that I love and cherish. He is my sweetheart, my confidant and most of all my eternal companion for eternity!
We have had our challenges from time to time, but that is what makes a marriage interesting and helps us work harder to pull together in everything that we do. We have 5 wonderful children and 4 beautiful grand-daughters, with two babes on the way. Ashley is having a boy and Erin is having a girl and they will be sweet little additions to our family.

Lyndon and I spent Friday and half of Saturday together and enjoyed each others company, which is something that we don't get a lot of now a days. Life just gets hectic with work and church callings. But that is o.k. We went to see the lights on Temple Square on Friday evening and it was beautiful. We really enjoyed seeing all the lights and feeling the spirit on Temple Square.

I am so grateful for Lyndon! I so appreciate how he has worked so hard so that I don't have to work. He makes our life comfortable and he is fun and sweet and has a heart of gold. He may look rough and tough on the outside, but he is a marshmellow on the inside.

I am grateful for his spirituality and his willingness to listen to the spirit and to always choose to keep the commandments and is faithful in all he is asked to do.

He is my everything and I want him to know that I love him! Thanks, Lyndon, you're 1 in a million!

Hurray! I had a good weight loss after Thanksgiving!

I weighed in monday and to my great surprise I lost 2 pounds! I was quite careful, but thought I might just remain the same weight. I was quite happy! I made it through the Thanksgiving holiday and now I need to make it through the month of December. There is always things going on this month and I need to be in control. I just need to plan carefully and I can do it!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends and enjoyed the Cook gathering in Tremonton so very much! It was so much fun to see all the nieces and nephews and their children. The Cook Clan is growing by leaps and bounds. We had a good visit with my family too and really enjoyed staying with Doug and Lisa and their family Friday night and Saturday! It was fun spending a little bit of time with them. I hope we can do it again sometime.

Well I got my tree up Monday night, not decorated, mind you. Then on Tuesday evening I got the lights on and got it decorated. I hate putting on the lights. It is a pain, but I love the tree! Then I decorated it and it is pretty, I guess. I didn't put alot of effort into it. I think I am getting lazy in my old age. I do love Christmas, but it is sometimes a lot of work and I am trying to simplify, simplify, simplify!!!

Erin was here today and she helped my with some Cub scout stuff and then we cut out snowflakes for our tree on my Cricut Expressions machine. They are quite pretty. Well it is time to go and read scriptures with my cute little hubby. We are enjoying reading the scriptures each evening and I am learning some things I have not noticed before. Isn't that how it is each time we read the Book of Mormon? Well good night all!

The holidays are upon us!

Well I wasn't able to go to Weight Watchers today. I got roped into going down to the L.D.S. Manufacturing this morning from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. to serve down there. I wasn't a real happy camper last night when Lyndon volunteered the both of us, just because I had alot to do today. I always sign up for service at the cannery every time there is a need. I just had a lot to do today. So in Relief Society I chose not to sign up. Well, the Relief Society Pres. came over last night begging me to go, because no one, beside Camille Smith had signed up. So my dear sweet husband said we would go and I know it was the right thing to do and (truthfully, I had a good time and enjoyed myself, don't tell anyone, will you?) I then came home and tore into my day and got alot accomplished. I am now tired. I was up at 4:30 a.m. so that I could get my exercise in before leaving this morning.

I hope I can get through the holidays without a weight gain. It is hard not to want to bake and eat it too! I am just going to have to have extra willpower!!!

Well I want to wish all of you who read my blog a very Happy Thanksgiving! I know that I have a lot to be thankful for and I and my family have been extremely blessed this past year. I know that Heavenly Father loves me and is aware of me. I know that he loves all of his children and wants us to all be happy. I love this quote by Barbara Bush:

To us, family means
putting your arms
around each other
and being there!

It is so true and my family is very good at giving hugs and being there when we need them. Thanks all of my children and their spouses and my wonderful grandchildren for being everything in the world to me and I want you all to know that I love you all so very much! Have a great week everyone!

New Hair do!

I had my hair done this morning and I feel like a new woman. I love the color and the way Jenny styled it. She does a great job. I liked it so much that I had to share a picture of me. Who knows if I can style it the same way tomorrow. I hope that I can. I feel so good and being down almost 20 pounds in weight is so great too! Happy Day Everyone!

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My weigh-in was a success!

Today I went to Weight Watchers and I was very happy to see that I had lost 2 and a half pounds. Hurray! As of today I have lost 18 pounds and it makes me feel so good. I have gone down a size and love being able to fit into clothes I haven't worn for 4 years. Exercise is a great help, but the WW program is what is so awesome and it is something that is easy to do and can be done for a lifetime. I love it. I am learning so much about myself.

I also got my keyboard out again and am re-learning to play some of the songs that Erin taught me a couple of years ago and hopefully I can go on and learn more. It is fun and I love learning. It is good to learn something new everyday.

I am finally feeling better and getting over this darn cold. I talked to my mom today and she now has the gumboo and so does Erin. I hope they both get well before Thanksgiving. I am also excited, because I talked to Marla today and she and her family are coming to our home for Thanksgiving. It will be great fun to have them come and we will really enjoy having the with us for the day. We are then going on Friday to Tremonton for Lyndon's family get together and then that afternoon we will leave there and go to Pocatello and visit my family Friday night and all day Saturday. I am looking forward to it. I called Lisa and asked if we could stay with them. She said they would love to have us and so it will be fun to get to visit with there family. That is something we never get to do.

Well I need to get myself to bed early tonight because I am working in the temple tomorrow from 6 a.m. until 10 a.m. I have to be up by 4 a.m. and leave by 5:30 a.m. The group from my ward that I go with, they decided they wanted to go to breakfast tomorrow at Hagerman's. They serve all the french toast you want for $3 dollars. I will have to be careful and not go overboard. Well that's all folks!

It is a beautiful day!

Well I went to Weight Watchers today thinking I was going to gain a pound. I was sick all last week and didn't feel like exercising. My scale at home said I was up a pound and a half and thought to myself, "Self, you can just stay home and not face the scale and go next week". Well that is what I have done in the past and I promised myself that I would not do that again and give up on myself. So I exercised and then got myself to Weight Watchers. I got on the scale and I had lost .2 pounds. Not very much, but it was better than a gain and so I was quite surprised and happy and decided that I need to throw my scale out. I am glad I went and I needed the support from the lecture and the members. It was really great. I am now feeling better and hope to be back to my exercise routine and following my good health eating guidelines again. There was this lady there at weight watchers that is a life time member. She lost 98 pounds in a year or so and she looks great. I would say she is in her sixties. I thought if she can lose 98 pounds I can lose the 40 or so that I need to lose. Then this afternoon I saw this same lady at Costco with her husband and they both looked so happy and as they were walking through the fruit and vegie section I saw her husband give her bottom a little pat and could tell he loved her and was proud of her. I just couldn't help but watch. It was sweet! I hope to look that good in my sixties and beyond!

Lyndon and I are going to Steve and Karen Nelson's tonight. They are a couple we are working with to get active in the church again and hopefully to the temple to be sealed. It will take some time and the missionaries are giving them the discussions. I hope they will make it. They are a wonderful couple. We have been working with them since the end of April. I hope they start making some progress. We just have to have faith and offer lots of prayers. It can happen! Well goodnight all!

I have a cold!

I have a cold and I have a terrible dry cough. It has been going on since last saturday. I am feeling a bit better today and it will probably just take it's sweet time going away. Lyndon flew to Las Vegas with Don Koyle for the NACE Show. He will be home on Friday night. I am going to a Christmas Card class tonight. "While the cat's away, the mice will play." as the saying goes. So I am going to have fun and not worry about leaving my hubby at home. It should be a fun class. I called Erin and had her help me change the background on my blog. It is nice to change it. Change is good! I went to the Library this morning and got a couple of books on tape by Mary Higgins Clark and I am going to listen to them while I work on a Christmas cross-stitch that I want to get done in time for December. I am going to have to really get working on it if I am going to have it done. I might even take a little nap today and rest. This cough just wears me out. Oh well, life goes on! That's all folks!

I am feel fit and strong and better than I have felt in 5 years!

I went to my weekly weight watcher's meeting Monday morning and guess what? I survived Halloween and lost weight!!!

I lost 1 and a half pounds and I am now 15 pounds down!

Hurray!!!!

I came across this cute quote by Erma Bombeck and I think it is so true of many women...

"I've been on a constant diet for the last two decades. I've lost 789 pounds. By all accounts, I should be hanging from a charm bracelet"

I thought that was pretty cute and accurate. I am trying to not be on a diet but learning to eat more healthily and to understand why and why I need to eat. It has a been a great journey so far and I am going to keep learning and growing and knowing myself better each day! I love how it feels to have my body be stronger and leaner! You can be fit, lean and strong at any age!

Have a good day everyone and keep smiling!

Halloween Trick or Treats!

We had a very fun and scared out of our wits Halloween! Hee! Hee! Meg looks real frightened!
Todd's costumn would have won the Halloween Costumn contest, had he been in one!
Good thing this is only a hat wig and awful looking teeth. He looks pretty creepy!
Here's Shane our Ooompa Loompa! Everyone that saw him at Costco, love the costumn!
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Here are our sweet little trick or treaters getting ready to go out and trick or treat in the neighborhood. They had fun evening and got lots of treats. It was a fun night Tricks, Treats and lots of fun Scariness!

I am so excited!

I went to Weight Watchers and got on the scale and had lost another 2 and a half pounds. I was so excited! It is such a great feeling to be leaving junk alone. To be eating more vegetables and fruit and learning to eat to strengthen my body and take care of it. I have lost a total of 13 pounds so far and I love it! My body is a temple and it is the only house my spirit has to live in and I don't want to be evicted from this house by not taking care of my special temple that my Heavenly Father has given me.

I am so blessed and Heavenly Father has given me so many wonderful blessings. I have such a wonderful and loving husband, who is always so good to me. I have 5 wonderful children and 4 beautiful grand-daughters. I love them all! I have the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know it is true and I know that my Savior knows me personally and loves me. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and I know that they are words to me from my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ and if I will study and heed the council given there, my life will be richly blessed.

I love living in the United States and in the state of Utah. I love the freedoms that we enjoy! I am grateful for all the beautiful seasons that we enjoy here. I am so thankful to around so many wonderful neighbors, friends and family. I have been blessed this past week and this coming week to have my mom here visiting. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful, giving and loving mother. I am so grateful that she is mine. I hope to have her around for a long time. We have had a wonderful time together and I know that I will miss her when she goes home next monday.

We are going to my cousin Mark Whiting's today to do some genealogy. I am looking forward to it and I know I will learn some new things there. I am so blessed and so grateful for all my many wonderful blessings, blessings that cannot be numbered and that I could never repay to my Heavenly Father.

Here is my thought for the day...

Not a day goes by
that I don't say...
"THANK YOU".
I am truly blessed.
Oprah Winfrey

Life is good and I am still going strong!

Well I haven't written for a few days. My mom has been here and we have been having a lot of fun together. I was really proud of myself on Monday because I lost another pound and a half and that sure made me feel good. I have now lost a total of 11 pounds and I am feeling like I have more energy and I am sleeping better too. What a difference losing weight can make in one's life.

My mom and I went out to visit Ashley yesterday. My mom hadn't seen Ashley and Jed's new home. We had a fun visit and it was fun to see Ruby and Emma. They are so cute and I love them to pieces. Ruby has such a tender heart and always is so sweet to other children and just wants to be their friend. Emma is my little pixie face. She is just getting such a cute personality. The girls had fun showing Grandma Delly their new home and giving her the complete tour.

We are having a Halloween Party tomorrow and so today I will be preparing some things for it. It should be a lot of fun. We also invited Mark, Marla, Riley and Connor. We are going to have good Halloween food and fun games for the kids and adults alike. The kids are supposed to wear their costumns. It should be great fun! I will post pictures after we party.

Have a good day everyone reading my blog and remember....

May you be
gentle with
yourself and
others!

The Witches at Gardener Village Adventures!

Witch Playing the piano with a goblin coming out the top!
Ruby and Emma by the witch snuggled in the barrel with blankets.
Jack-o-lanterns up in the trees!
Ashley making friends with the spider in the tree.
Ashley and the girls having a visit with Natasha the Witch!
This one is pretty grumpy!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
Emma and Grandma standing by the witches garden.
Boil and Bubble, Toil and Trouble that's the magic of Witches Brew!
On Saturday Oct. 10th Erin, Delphia and myself went to Gardner Village and visited the witches who had seemed to be taking over the village. Witches were everywhere. This is something the witches do every year is come to visit Gardner Village. Because it was a Saturday they were very busy. They had a page that you could copy off of the Gardner Village Website for children to find about 12 of the many witches there. It was very crowded and so we just looked and Delphia really enjoyed herself. It was fun, but I hate all the crowds. Then on Tuesday, Oct. 13th I went with Ashley, Ruby and Emma. It was way less crowded with people, still busy, but bearable. We got some cute pictures and the weather was windy, but pleasant. The girls found all the witches on the sheet Ashley had printed out and so upon finding them you could go to the Naborhood Bakery and get a chocolate chip cookie for 25 cents. The girls loved it and as we sat at the table outside to eat Ruby was just enjoying her cookie and didn't want to leave until it was completely finished. We had a fun day together and I enjoyed have Ashley and the girls over. We don't get to do that very often and so it was a delight! Fall is such a fun season and it is one of my favorites!

Still Going Strong on my healthy eating!

Well here it is monday morning and I didn't want to get out of bed very bad. But slowly and surely I climbed out. I got in my workout clothes, had a big drink of water and headed down stairs to exercise. I did my hour of Leslie Sansone Walk DVD. It felt so good when I was finished. I then headed up stairs cleaned a few things up and got ready for Weight Watchers. I had struggled a few days this past week and was sure I would gain at this weigh in. I wasn't terrible, mind you, but I did some cooking and it was that darn pumpkin chocolate bread I made on Saturday that I thought would surely foul me up. I had even thought of not going, but I had told myself that this time I was not going to miss even if I thought I had gained or had a bad week. That was all the more reason to go and get the support I needed. Well I went and I lost 1.6 pounds. I was totally surprised. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it was a loss and it made me so happy. I am on my way and I have recommitted myself this week to not bake and eat right. I will be going to Ogden on saturday and so I need to eat right and save extra points for a bit of a splurge on that day. I feel so good and I am proud of myself for continuing to hang in there. So many other times I have just given up!

Erin and Delphia came over today and we had a fun day. We went to the scrapbook store and then to Costco's. Then we came home and had lunch and then Phia went for a nap and Erin and I did some paper crafting. I did a cute paper snip-it turkey. He turned out cute. He is not quite done. I will post him when he is finished. Then we made dinner. We made pizza. It was Chicken Barbeque Pizza and it was delicious! Then we took Delphia on a walk over to the church to collect fall leaves so that she can do some leaf etchings with her mom tomorrow.

Tomorrow Ashley and the girls are coming to visit for the day and I am looking forward to that. We are going to Gardener Village to see the witches in the morning and then home. Ashley has her doctor appt. tomorrow and so I will watch the girls for her. Well life is good and I am happy. What more could a girl ask for?

On Tuesday Erin and I went to Pebbles in my Pocket Scrapbook store and we were just in a looking around mood. We saw these cute Give Thanks blocks and decided we wanted to make them. So Erin took a picture with her cell phone so we could remember how they looked. We then had Shane cut the wood for us and Erin put together the kits of paper ect. and planned to have a get together with Ashley on Thursday. We met at Erin's on Thursday and did our craft thing. It was fun making them. We had a lot of fun! I think they turned out cute. We then got the girls dressed warm and went to a park. It was a big park, with fun things to play on. There were three parks to choose from and so we asked Ashley which one she preferred, because two of them have bathrooms and one doesn't. Ruby usually has to use the bathroom when we take her to the park. Well, she figured that because Ruby had just used the bathroom that she would be o.k. and so we could go to the one with no bathroom. So off we go with Phia and Emma in the stroller and Ruby walking with us. When we get to the park then Ruby tells us..."Mom, I need to go to the pee." So I voluteered to take her over to the tulie bushes. Well she didn't have to go and so back we went and they played awhile, having a lot of fun. Then Ruby tells her mom..."Mom I have to go poop!" Ashley told her she was going to have to hold it and so she did and luckily she didn't have an accident and when we got back to Erin's she didn't have to go. Oh, the life of little children. It was a fun day and we all enjoyed being together. I stayed at Erin's for dinner and then went to Ashley's to see her new furniture and get my small cooler. I then headed home and just plainly relaxed. Ahhhhhhh!

Last night when Shane came to the house to pick Erin and Delphia up, we told him that we needed wood cut out for our project and so after he had some dinner we all went out to the cold garage to watch him cut some wood for us. Well Delphia didn't have a warm coat to go outside with and so I got her my girls camp hoody and rolled up the sleeves and put it on her. She looked so cute we just had to take a picture of her. It was pretty funny! She loved wearing it and she called it her "hoody blanket". We all laughed!



I am going visiting teaching this morning and last night I made up these cute little treats to take to the ladies that we visit. They were fun to make and I think they turned out really cute. Just a little "Witches Brew" to brighten up their day and maybe warm up there tummy's on cold night. Hee! Hee! Just a little good witch humor.

Also in my last blog I said that I had made a delicious soup/chili for dinner. It is a weight watchers recipe and is only 1 pt. for a cup of it. I wanted to share the recipe with everyone because everyone in my family loved it and even Lyndon loved it. He normally doesn't like anything with green peppers in it. So here is the recipe and I hope you will give it a try. It is the best...

VEGETARIAN CHILI

1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can great northern beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can chopped/stewed tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 chopped and diced green pepper
1 chopped and diced onion
1 garlic cloves, finely chopped or pressed through a garlic press
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cumin
1 cupwater

Place all ingredients in a large pan and mix well. Then let simmer on a low heat for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve with lite sour cream and low fat cheese. It is so good. I hope someone will try it and tell me what they think.

I have weblos today and have some things to get ready for that today too! I have a pretty full day, but that is o.k. and it keeps life interesting. Speaking of life being interesting here is a quote for the day. I love it!!!

EVERYDAY IS A SPECIAL DAY,
A DAY IN WHICH TO GIVE
THE VERY BEST WITHIN YOU
EVERY DAY YOU LIVE!

I think this is so true and I hope to live that way everyday! Happy day everyone who reads my blog!

Fun day of shopping and cooking!

Today Erin and Delphia came over at about 10:15 a.m. Erin gave her dad the payroll stubs so he could pay his employees and then we loaded Delphia in the car and off we went shopping. We first headed up to Pebbles in my Pocket. It is a scrapbook store. We saw a lot of cute ideas and got a cute craft idea that we are going to do at Ashley's home on thursday. I will post pictures when we get them done. Then we wanted to go to Cottonwood Mall. Well we couldn't find it and think that it is not there anymore. So since we were so close into Salt Lake, we decided to go to Trolley Square. We decided we were hungry first, so we stopped at a Wendy's after a bit of running around trying to decide where to eat lunch. I was a good girl and had a grilled chicken sandwich and a side salad.

Then we were off to find Trolley Square. Neither of us have been there in a long while and so we needed to call Todd to tell us that we were going in the right direction. We were only one block off from finding it. We got parked on the south side of Trolley Square and got on the elevator and walked across the bridge that crosses the street into Trolley Square. Delphia loved looking down and watching the traffic. Then we found ourselves a restroom and then we were off on our shopping spree. We went into the kids store that has all the cute things for kids and their bedrooms. I can't think of the name right off hand now. Delphia loved this big rocking horse they had in there and it was hard to get her off. We distracted her with something else and made it out of the store without to much trouble. We then walked down to Williams Sonoma. It is a fun store if you love to cook and I love to cook. I bought some silicone halloween cup cake holders and they are so cute! We also went upstairs to the Salt Water Taffy store and bought some taffy and carmel. It was just fun walking around. We then went back to the car and drove to Orson Gygi's. It is also a fun store for all things cooking. I love that store too! Erin bought some halloween cookie cutters and some cute purple and orange silicone cupcake holders and then we decided it was time to go. Delphia was a little trooper and was so good while we shopped.

Then we came home and put Delphia for a nap. I had found a recipe for a pear tart and Erin and I decided we wanted to make it. So between the two of us we got it made, got our soup and cornbread made for dinner and then we relaxed for a bit. Lyndon arrived home at 5:00 p.m. and then we had dinner. It was delicious. We did the cornbread muffins in the silicone holder and they turned out so good. They just popped right out of the holder. I love them!!!! The pear tart was so good too! Thank goodness it all got eaten. I have to admit that I had to have a small piece. It is something I would make again. I got the recipe off a site called: www.kitchensimplicity.com She has some great recipes. Then we got dishes done and Lyndon went to his meetings.

Erin and I then put our craft kits together for thursday and Shane is going to cut the wood out for us. It will be a fun project. Well it has been a fun and very full day. It has gone by fast. I guess it is time to head to bed. Goodnight!

My weigh in was great!

I went to weight watchers this morning and wasn't sure how well I was going to do. Weekends are hard for me, but I really tried. I lost 2 pounds! Hurray! Each loss is a loss in the right direction! Slowly but surely I will get to my goal weight. It isn't always easy. I have to really concentrate on writing everything down that I eat in my food journal. It really does help.

We had a wonderful conference weekend. We enjoyed our company from California (the Jury family). We had Phillip and a couple of friends and Courtney Kiffer and her room mate Amber come for the second session on sunday afternoon and watch with us. It was fun to have them all there. We then had dinner together and visited. It was really nice weekend!

Fun day with my daughters and grand-daughters!

Yesterday Erin and Ashley came to visit with their daughters. Ruby, Emma and Delphia love playing together and they love to run through the house chasing each other. We all had lunch together and just visited. I got a potatoe salad made and made some cookies too! Mind you I only had a half of a cookie. I am still doing well on my eating and exercise plan. Then Jed came to the house to pick Ashley up and they were going to the B.Y.U Football game together. I was watching the girls for her for the evening. We had a fun evening together.

Todd, Megan and Chloe came over about 7:00 p.m. and Erin was still at the house and so we all had a fun visit. The grand kids played together and then later Todd and Lyndon went downstairs to watch some the B.Y.U. football game. I got Emma to bed by 8:00 p.m. and Ruby to bed by 9:00 p.m. They were exhausted and so was I. It is fun to have them over and we had a fun time. Then at 11:00 p.m. Jed and Ashley arrived to pick up the girls. We saw then off and then headed to bed ourselves.

Our company, the Jury family, got home late last night too. We have enjoyed having them here. They had a busy day yesterday and it sounds like they have a lot on their agenda today as well.

I am off to watch conference now. It should be a good one.

These are the Halloween decorations I put up today. It was fun decorating and putting it all out!




Well today has been a much nicer day than yesterday was as far as weather goes. The sun is out and the sky mostly blue, but it was quite cold this morning. It has warmed up a bit. I went this morning and had my hair done and it feels great. It is always nice to get it cut and have some color put back in it. I feel like a new woman! I am also doing well on my diet today. Lyndon took me to lunch and we went to Chick-fil-a. I checked out the points for their menu and was able to find a healthy sandwich and had a side salad with it with fat free dressing. It feels so good to be in control. Then I got home and flew through my house getting it all cleaned and then set out all my halloween decorations. It was fun to put them out. I love decorating for Halloween and Christmas. They are my favorite holidays of the year! We also have company from California coming to stay with us. They are the Jury's. The mom and her daughter and son. They are from Spencer's last area. Before he left the area he emailed us and asked if they could stay with us for the weekend because their ward was having a youth conference thing up here and they needed a place to stay. So they will be here tonight. It will be fun to visit with them. They have a pretty busy schedule, but I'm sure we will get time to do some visiting.

Last Saturday we went to the pumpkin festival in Ashley's old neighborhood. We picked out pumpkins and took some fun pictures and here are some of them. We had a lot of fun!

Setting new goals for myself!

I have been sick of my weight for almost 5 years now. I went to my endocrinologist on the 24th of September and when he told me my hdl and ldl were not where they should be and that losing these extra pounds would make a huge difference in my health and my energy levels...I decided to take it to heart and I went back to Weight Watchers. I went to Weight Watchers on Tuesday and then to the doctor on Thursday. So I had already made a commitment. The first week I wrote down everything I ate in my food journal. That made a huge difference, being in control of what I was eating. I also took more time eating and enjoying each bite of food instead of eating and gobbling it down so fast. So after a week I went and weighed in and I lost 2.5 pounds and I was elated. I really couldn't tell that I had lost weight and so it was wonderful! I am now on a weight loss journey because I am feeling so good and I am in control. I haven't been in control of my diet since 2005.



I purchased at the store (multi-grain sandwich thins from Orrowheat). They are real good. I have had sandwiches with them and I really like them. They are only 1 point. This morning I made a breakfast sandwich with them. I put an egg, 2 slices of canadian bacon, warmed, 2 T. low fat grated cheese and a slice of tomatoe. It was so good and then a cup of fruit. Loved it!!!

I am trying different recipes because I love to have variety in my diet. I just feel better than I have in so long and I want to keep it up and make this a life-style change for good. I have 40 pounds to lose and I am going to blog about how I am doing each day and some of the recipes that I am trying. It is going to be a great journey of self-awareness and learning to appreciate my body and to take better care of it! I like this quote and it is my thought for the week....




If you can imagine it,
You can achieve it.
If you can dream it,
You can become it!

It is a great thought to keep in mind all week!

New Reads that I am Enjoying!

I have over the past two weeks read a couple of cute books. If you are into fantasy, like I am, you will like these books. They are books that kids in middle school and late elementary would like. They are not scary, but fun and full of adventure! The books are by: Vivian French and they are:


The Robe of Skulls
The First Tale of the Five Kingdoms






The Bag of Bones
The Second Tale of the Five Kingdoms

These books are a lot of fun and I am just finishing the second book and can
hardly put it down. Hope you will try them out. They are a fun books for
for October or any time of the year! Enjoy!!!

Trip to Tremonton

This morning I awoke at 4:00 a.m. and quietly got ready to go work in the temple laundry at the Draper Temple. I have been working there for the past 6 months. I go every third and fifth Tuesday, if there is one and spend 4 hours there (from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.) It is a fun calling or task assignment. It is for 1 year. I enjoy going with 4 other members of my ward and it is nice to serve in the temple. We arrived at the temple and there wasn't a lot to do. Temple attendance has been down since school started. I hope it will pick up. We were semi-busy throughout the morning and before we knew it, it was time to go.

When I arrived home Lyndon met me there and I changed clothing and then we got in the car and headed to the store to pick up a car that Lyndon had sold to a woman from Logan. We needed to take it to Tremonton, where we were meeting her. It was fun to spend some time with my hubby. We don't get that time together that often and I loved just being able to talk and laugh together. The lady arrived there just after we got there and she talked to Lyndon and then wanted to drive it back to Logan to her mechanic and then come back. So in the mean time we went to Subway for lunch with Don Koyle, our brother-in-law. Then went to Don and Danna's and visited with Lyndon's mom and saw her new apartment. It is really nice. I think she will be really comfortable there. It was fun to see Danna and Grandma. Sonja and Loreena were there too and so we got a good visit in with them. It was nice to catch up!

Then after a couple of hours we headed back to Don's shop and waited for the lady to come back. She did and wanted the car. So we got Danna to come and do the paperwork, because Don had to go to Ogden for something. Then we headed home. Lyndon was so glad to get the car sold. We arrived home and then I quickly made dinner. We had Beef strogonoff and fruit salad. It was delicious. Then I cleaned up and Lyndon got ready for his stake meetings and I got dressed to go over to be set apart for my new calling in the stake weblos den. I have been doing it for a month and half and I really love it and enjoy the boys.

I love that this storm is coming in too! I'm ready for a cool down. I don't want it to get too cold, but I want it to be a bit cooler than it has been so I will enjoy the change in the weather. It has been a lovely, especially because I spent it with Lyndon!

Just some fall fun!

Erin and I made pumpkin spice cookies and pumpkin cream cheese spread for bagels. They both were delicious! So I thought I would share a picture of them I also saw in Martha Stewarts magazine some really cute Halloween laterns. I decided to make a couple and after doing so I want to make two more. They are easy and fun to make. I am going to get with Erin and Ashley tomorrow to make them. I went to the doctor today. Dr. Miner is my Endocrinologist. I see him for my thyroid. Well, he said that my hdl and my ldl, were not looking that great. He said I need to lose weight and get these at the levels they need to be at. So he is putting me on a generic of Symbacort to help the problem. I hope it will and I am going to do my darndest to lose weight. He said with the history of heart disease on my dad's family that I need to take care of myself and eat more healthily. So I went back to weight watchers yesterday and it was good to go back. I know that I can do this and need to do this. I know I will feel better too!

I am working on a baby card this afternoon for a baby shower that I am unable to attend and so I will give the gift to Melody Olson on friday the day before the shower. We are going to the temple and so I can give it to her then. I bought diapers and wipes as the gift. I figure they are always needed. Then tonight I have weblos planning meeting at 5:30 p.m. I plan to exercise tonight around 7:30 p.m. I also exercised this morning for 30 minutes. Extra exercise will help. Well here are the pictures... .Happy day everyone!





I think both of these lanterns are so cute. They are cuter in person and really cute with the candle in them. I tried to take a picture with the candle in it. It isn't very good.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread. So Good!