Thanks For Visiting

I got on this blog today to write something new and possibly earth shattering, but instead I started reading all of my old posts.

After reading them, I am more glad than ever that I started this blog. It has been a place for me to record my thoughts and feelings for others to read. I even thought to myself that when I die that others can come here and remember me (I know, that's a morbid thought...sorry!).

I also added pictures to old posts because a picture is worth a thousand words.

SOoooo if it's been awhile since you've visited my blog or are new to the site, I hope you will take the opportunity to review my past blogs and that you will get as much joy from them as I did.

No More Living in an Hourglass

Yesterday I had the opportunity to drive on the newly opened Legacy Parkway. This is a project which has been in the works for about eight years now. For years it was tied up in court thanks to Rocky Anderson (boo!) and the Sierra Club who were worried about the affects to the wet lands. The concession was only two lanes both ways, no trucks and a 55 MPH speed limit.

Until Saturday the only access that people in Davis county had for driving into Salt Lake was the I-15 corridor. The Legacy Parkway starts by Lagoon and basically follows I-15 along the west side and connects onto I-215 headed towards the airport by Redwood Road.

I probably won't take it going into work since I miss the worse commute and it only takes me about 30-35 minutes to get to work.

Hopefully now my commute home won't be an hour long any more. And there was nothing worse than when there was a wreck to be on the freeway for two hours.

First Day of School

Wow, it's hard to believe that the summer is now over and the kids are back in school. I can't believe that I have been sending kids off to their first day of school for 20 years now and each year has been bitter-sweet.

I think both Braedon and Nicole were really excited to go back. Braedon was up at 5:00am since he will be a Junior going to East Hollywood High this year which is in Salt Lake. To go there he has to ride public transportation and so has to catch the train to Salt Lake at 6:30am. East Hollywood High is a charter school with emphasis on film and acting. Braedon loves these areas and so we are hoping that this school will give him the love of learning again, plus the class size is about a 1/3 of his old high school.

Nicole headed off to third grade this year. Her teacher is Mrs. Parmer and she has alot of friends in this class. Nicole loves school so we aren't worried to much about her. You can see her picture for the first day of school. I keep telling her dad that I wish she weren't such a tomboy and he says try saying that in about 6-8 years when she discovers boys and she isn't such a tomboy.

Changes

I was looking at my blog profile and realized that it still said I was forty-two years old. And as good as that looked on paper (so to speak) I decided in order to be truthful I'd best change it to reflect the two birthdays I've had since I started this blog...hard to believe it has been that long. I don't feel like I'm forty-four. I remember as a kid I used to always think when you were forty you were OLD, but I really don't feel OLD. I have found that time seems to go by faster though the older I get....funny how that is.

And since I was changing things up I thought I might as well change the template to something new and add a rare picture of me in front of the camera instead of behind it taking the pictures all the time. Believe me, I always feel more comfortable behind the camera instead. I feel like my kids are always much more photogenic than me.

The picture I added was taken by Nicole when we were down in San Diego at the Christmas Festival at Balboa Park with my sister Kim. Hey Kim, we had lots of fun!

Dear Miss Manners

What is the proper etiquette for when you are in the bathroom at work and someone knocks on the door?

First of all, why are they knocking on the door? Shouldn't the first clue that someone is in there is that the door is locked? And what exactly do they want me to say? Come back later, I'm busy!?!?

I must say that there have been a couple of times that I have almost busted into the Fats Domino song "I hear you knocking but you can't come in".

Designing Woman

Well, I just finished another wedding dress. I didn't realize that making Cassie's wedding dress would put me back in the business.

I used to sew professionally when I lived in California and I liked it but it could be very stressful. I was glad to get my degree in nursing and start a real job, but I realize now that I have missed the creativity that comes from designing wedding dresses. This one turned out well and I think that Tarah (the neighor) is happy with it.

I've now decided to throw together an album of the dresses I've sewn so that others can see them, especially since another gal at work asked me yesterday if I could sew her wedding dress. And so the other half of the business is born.

Taking a Step Back

Who ever it was who said "You can't see the forest for the trees" had to have been a very wise person. For I have found in my life that it usually takes someone looking from the outside in who helps me understand my life better.

My most recent experience with this was when my neighbor Jen called the other day to see how I was doing and said that she had seen Braedon get off the bus and was thinking to herself how handsome he looked. She then proceeded to ask how he was doing and if he had his drivers license yet. I told her that he still didn't have his license because his grades weren't good enough. Then she asked if he had a girlfriend and I told her no. She then said that other than the grades it sounded like he was a really good kid...and you know, she is right. I guess sometimes I just get so fixated on his poor grades that I forget how good of a kid he really is.

Last night Braedon did something that drove that point home even further. I heard him call his dad and ask if there was any way he could work this weekend to earn some money. I didn't hear any more of the conversation, but later on he asked to go online to check out tuxedo rentals. He then proceeded to tell me that he had asked a girl to prom that day. When I asked "when's prom?" he told me it's the 19th which is only 11 days away. I then chastised him for waiting 'til the last minute to ask a girl....didn't he know that she would need to get a dress. That is when he told me that she already had a dress because another boy had asked her but then backed-out.

What a great kid I have!!! Here he is trying to figure out how to make enough money at the last minute so that he can take this girl to a prom so she doesn't have to miss out. He was even going so far as to hunt down his vest and he said he found a black jacket in the downstair closet that fit except the sleeves were just a little short. Other words he was trying to figure out how to go without renting a tux.

There aren't very many boys out there his age who would go to all this trouble for a girl who wasn't their "girlfriend". He has a good heart! I just need to step back more often and see him as others do!