Mitt Romney

It was very exciting last night watching the Michigan Primary, and seeing Mitt win handily. I am sitting here typing away listening (not watching) right now to Hannity and Colmes on Fox News and there is a huge argument between someone and Alan about Hillary.

I'll be glad in a way when it's over! It's been an interesting race so far, and I feel much better about it than I did when it first began, but I really do hate to listen to arguing.

Our Christmas Dinner

The morning began by visiting Steve and Sherri and the kids. They had a very nice Christmas and it's fun watching little kids Christmas morning surrounded by all their new found treasures.

Afterward we stopped to get my brother Mike, returned home and started Christmas dinner. I made clam chowder, and we had French bread, an applesauce bread that was given to us by our neighbors Paul and Carrie. We had slices of ham and I was going to make a salad, but never got it done.

We had pumpkin and apple pie with ice cream for dessert, and then opened a few more gifts.

Mike gave me a beautiful book for Christmas and a new pair of scales since he broke our last scale last October just before we went back to Arizona.

Cari, Joey, Brandi, and little A.J. ate with us too. Lisa and the kids came a little later.

I was so happy that Joey and Brandi came. I really wanted to spend some time with my great-grandson and it was very nice.

Mike put a 100 miles on our car picking everyone up and taking them back home again. We are both tired again. And I have been deaf all day long. I can't wait until tomorrow so I can get an antibiotic. My ears go deaf from the cold and foods I've been eating. Although, I haven't eaten very much that should have done it.

Mike is relaxing by watching TV. but since I can't hear, I'm just sitting her doing what I can do. Although, I think I'll quit and go and read my new book.

Sunday Sleep Over

What were we thinking?????? No, actually it was very fun! We had seven little grandchildren under the age of 8 in our small 1000 sq. ft. condo over night! Whew!

We normally have them over in smaller groups, but that couldn't be arranged this time. We just didn't have enough days.

They ate pizza for dinner, but really was not interested in eating. They wanted to get right to the part of playing games or watching videos. The girls: Emily, Anna, Gwynny, Ashley and Leah all decided on watching Shrek The Third. They had all seen the movie, but it was the choice of all since it was the latest movie out.

The two boys: Quincy and JJ stayed in the den and played something. I never did go in and find out what they were up to. They came in to check on the girls every so often, and invited them to join them in their games, but I put a stop to that. We had five little girls content and happy, and I didn't want that messed up.

The girls slept on the floor wrapped up with blankets and the boys were on the spare bed in the den. They didn't go to sleep as quickly as Mike and I did, but at least they didn't cause any trouble, nor keep us awake.

They were at our home until after noon the following day, and they were good and found some quiet activities to play. We only had one problem and that was that we didn't take good enough care of our new wood kitchen table. One or two little girls had spilled water and the finish is ruined in two places. I hope we can figure out how to fix it when we get back there in the spring.

Mike's brother Darrell who lives in Washington came by to visit. He brought his trombone, and let all the kids have a turn blowing into it. It was a nice day.

An Unconventional Christmas Eve

Lisa had everyone over two nights in a row. She did this because Amy couldn't be there except for an hour or so Sunday night and Chris couldn't be there at all Monday night.

The kitchen was loaded with good food and while they were finalizing the dinner the movie "Griswold's Christmas" was on the TV. The one where the cat gets fried. We laughed and hoped the kids were missing the few inappropriate moments of the movie. They were so involved with other things that none seemed to pay any attention.

After dinner we began the important moment of the evening, opening gifts. The gifts were mostly for the eight grandchildren who were present, and they enjoyed themselves immensely.

After that Mike read the Christmas Story from Luke in the bible. Our Christmas story is a little different since we have so many little girls and they all want to be Mary. Last year there were even more little girls and so to make everyone happy there were four Mary's! When the reader, Jake got to the part of Joseph and Mary, he said, "And Joseph, and Mary, and Mary, and Mary, and Mary - - - and then continued on with the story. This went on every time Jake got to the part of Joseph and Mary.

This year we only had two Mary's, but we had three angels of the Lord. So the story went like this, "and Joseph and Mary and Mary, and the angel, and the angel, and the angel, and so it went. We didn't want the program to be irreverent, but it was funny.

What may have been a little irreverent was that we had two baby Jesus'. One was a bald doll dressed in pink pajama's. Hey, you never know! And the other one was a stuffed animal, which was a monkey that Mike and I gave Ashley as one of her presents. She wouldn't put it down, and insisted that her baby was baby Jesus too.

There were a few snickers when Lisa and Sherri noticed one of the angels picking her nose. And the snickers got louder when the angel made it clear she hadn't had enough to eat at dinner time. Or maybe it was an additional dessert. Mike was oblivious to the reason for the snickers and seemed a little put out that people were laughing during his story.

Earlier in the evening, Amy had given her mom (I'm Amy's step-mom) a four-roll pack of toilet paper as one of her Christmas presents. She told her there was one roll for each cheek.

During the story we needed a manger for the baby Jesus and someone threw one of the Mary's the toilet paper. It made a very nice comfy manger. The other Mary and the monkey didn't seem to mine that there weren't two mangers. Maybe it's because Ashley is only three.

It wasn't long before one of the Mary's started picking her nose too. She was the sister of the Angel. Must run in the family. Actually, Sherri was getting a little embarrassed, even though she was laughing.

Well, that about ended our Christmas Eve. It snowed earlier that day and added to that amount that evening. Mike and I drove home in the new fallen snow to the song, "I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas", and fell into bed exhausted again.

I Love Christmas Celebrations!

I love going to church at Christmas time! I sat in church contemplating the birth of our Saviour and how much He means to me.

The musical program was wonderful during sacrament meeting, and the messages that were given during the meetings was wonderful!

Just one problem, Chris and Dave took us to dinner last night before the concert and I tried hard to choose foods that I wasn't allergic to, but I wasn't successful since I was deaf the whole day Sunday. I couldn't hear most of what was said during any of the three meetings I attended. It was disappointing, but the spirit was strong and I felt it.

Later we picked up Cari and was supposed to pick up Joey and Brandi also, but Joey called just before we left and said they weren't coming. Mike asked if they were still coming for dinner on Christmas day, and Joey said he didn't know, but would let us know later. I was very disappointed because I have only seen my great-grandson Austin a few times and he is 20 months old.

We told Cari that they weren't coming and she said, "I wish I had known that I wouldn't have brought their mail". That opened an opportunity. I suggested we stop there since it was on the way and give them their mail, and possibly I could see the baby. We did and Austin Jagger is absolutely adorable! I wanted to spend some time with him, but we weren't really invited in and were standing in the open doorway letting the cold in. We left hoping that they would indeed come on Tuesday.

Mary's Lamb

I didn't write this poem. It came as an email to me and it's well worth reading!


Mary's Lamb

Mary! had a little Lamb,
His fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
The Lamb was sure to go.

He followed her to school each day,
T'wasn't even in the rule.

It made the children laugh and play,
To have a Lamb at school.

And then the rules all changed one day,
Illegal it became;
To bring the Lamb of God to school,
Or even speak His Name!

Every day got worse and worse,
And days turned into ! years.
Instead of hearing children laugh,
We heard gun shots and tears.

What must we do to stop the crime,
That's in our schools today?
Let's let the Lamb come back to school,
And teach our kids to pray!!

It is said that 86% of Canadian,
American & British people believe in God.
Why don't we just tell the other 14%
to be quiet and sit down????

Christmas Time

I love the Christmas season. Mike has Christmas music flowing though our home which gets me into the spirit.

I had no problem getting into the spirit when I was a child or when I was raising my children. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, but since our children are all grown, and we moved away from them during the winter, I need things to get me into the Christmas spirit. And Mike's enthusiasm getting the decorations and tree up, and his beautiful music does the trick.

We will go home on the 21st. to be with our family. I have a party with my friends that evening, and everyday to Jan 2, there is at least one party or something else going on. We will come home on the 4 of Jan, and I had a hard time finding a free day to schedule a needed doctor appointment to remove another skin cancer.

It's too Cold For Me

The temperature has fallen to the low 60's and will stay this way for a week. I know that doesn't seem cold to other people, but it is to me. I'm sitting under a blanket and my legs are cold and painful. Post polio patients have a terrible intolerance to cold.

I was reading an article on the web a month ago concerning this problem, and it gave lots of suggestions, one being to add more clothes. This doesn't work for me. I am not a very strong person which goes along with polio, and I can't carry the extra weight around without it taking my strength.

It looks sunny and warm out there. Some days it's actually warmer outside than it is in the house if you get right into the sun. I'll go try it and see if I can warm up.

Did You Watch Mitt Romney Yesterday?

I hope a lot of people watched Mitt Romney's speech that was given in Texas yesterday. He did a great job! I thought he looked like a president giving his inaugural speech.

I'm biased I guess, because I really like Mitt. I wondered how anyone could watch him and not be favorably impressed. I know many people were, but I have heard a few negative comments the last two days. I don't think there is anything Mitt can do to change those people's minds no matter what he said. They look very determined to dislike him, and intend to stay that way.

Thanksgiving 2007

Although we are away from our family for Thanksgiving this year, our daughter Lisa and her family made a surprise visit. And what a surprise it was for my dear hubby. She needed to let me know she was coming so I could make preparations, and it was harder than I thought it would be to keep it a secret from Mike. There were numerous occasions where I almost let the cat out of the bag.

Lisa, Shane, JJ, Leah, and Jaxon arrived about 5:30 PM Wednesday night. I was watching for them out the kitchen window while Mike and I cooked dinner. I had him made extra which he didn't catch on to. I guess he thought I wanted more the next day.

I had the kitchen blinds closed except for a tiny crack so I could see them. I didn't notice that Mike had left the kitchen. He went into our bedroom to close the blind and an apparition appeared in the window. There at the most perfect moment was Lisa, and the gang. Boy, was he shocked! He came back into the kitchen and exclaimed, "You won't believe who's here"!

We spent a wonderful weekend with them, and it made our Thanksgiving holiday seem like home again.

We had our own dinner the next day and joined John and Sherri and their family on Friday. Daniel and Jenny were eating Thursday with his family, and of course we wanted to be with them, so we ate again the following day with the family and another friend of theirs, Robyn and her three children whom we also ate with last year.

You just can't celebrate enough.

The Brown's Halloween

We weren't in Utah this year to celebrate Halloween with our grandchildren. In the past we had a Halloween party at our home and all the children and grandchildren came dressed for the occasion. Some of the costumes were unbelievably impressive. I need to find the pictures of some of the best costumes and post them.

These pictures are of Quincy who had several costumes this year, Anna, Gwyn, and Elyse. It looks like they had a wonderful Halloween.

A Cow On The Cow Parage For Our Granddaughters

I couldn't help but think of our little granddaughter's, Anna, Emily, Katie, Gwinney, Ashley, and Leah, when I saw this ballerina dancing cow. These girls are between the ages of 7 and 3 and think they are all princess's and ballerina dancers. Probably will be someday too.

We have two granddaughter who are a little over a year and just turned a year. Elyse and Lydia are not quite as excited about being princess's, they are princess's in the making.

Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride

While we were in Nauvoo one of the fun things we did was to take a horse-drawn carriage ride through the quaint little town.

It looks beautiful here in the picture, but it just happened to be the only day we were there that it was cold. We were all wrapped up in blankets. The weather was gorgeous the rest of the time, with temperatures in the 70's. I think it would have been pleasant this day also, if it weren't for a cold wind that was blowing.

And to add to the frustration, I was having one of my deaf days. It was after that that I learned I was allergic to onions and nuts, and I ate them through-out the whole trip. So unfortunately, I didn't hear what the tour guide was telling us as we traveled through the streets. The clip, clop of the horses hooves, and the wind, would have made it difficult without my hearing problem, but between the three problems I missed every word. I enjoyed the ride though.

The Book "The Truth About Hillary"

Mike took this picture of me while we were on our 15-day trip throughout the midwest and eastern states. I read several books during our travels and when we were in Nauvoo, Missouri visiting with Mike's brother Ray and his wife Colleen, I saw this book in their bookshelf. I asked if I could borrow it and he said to keep it.

The book was very interesting! I'm not going to tell you what's in it, I think you should read it and make your own judgements about it.

More About Dancing With The Stars

I really don't see how Marie is going to compete with these young girls who are dancing their brains out. They just danced a great dance! Marie will be up soon and we will see how she does. I'd like to see her have a good showing, but I think I might actually be disappointed if she stays in the running. I really don't think she is as good as the others who are left.

Dancing With The Stars

Tonight is the night to see if Marie stays on "Dancing With The Stars." She's had a rough two weeks. First she collapsed from not taking a breath after her dance, and then sadly last week she experienced the passing of her dear father. The funeral wasn't that long ago, and I don't know how she was able to learn two new dances after all that, but she's a trouper and an entertainer so I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't come out shining.

Well, they just announced that she is safe for another week. Amazing! I really didn't think she could compete with the younger girls. Either I'm wrong, or she's just so popular that the voters don't care.

Sleepy Bear

We had a great time in Las Vegas this weekend with Ted and the gang. We had the opportunity of meeting some of blogging friends, and some of the advertisers, and we learned what the advertisers what us to put in our blogs and what they don't want.

Many of the posties who attended won cool stuff. There were about four Roomba's given away, several ipods were won by lucky people, and I missed a camera by one number and the lucky one who got it was the person sitting next to me, Robyn.

There were lots of prizes and we all got a cute little bear. Ted gave me another one Tuesday when we met each other at Rawhide, in Chandler Arizona.

Kenny and Peggy and Stocks

They last day of our 15-day trip was in Rocky Hill, Connecticut with our son Kenny. Whenever we are together we work on stocks. Here we are at his computer working our our strategies.

We talk on the phone or by email everyday, doing the same thing. We mess up because one of us can't get a hold of the other one, but for the most part we are making some money.

Leaving For Postie Con Tomorrow

We are headed for Las Vegas tomorrow at about 10:00. It is a six hour drive from Phoenix, and we just made that trip less than three weeks ago. That's okay, we like to travel.

We won't be staying at Circus Circus but I know two bloggers who are staying there. Ben Sparks and my niece Robyn.

We will be staying in lowly motel room, and then with my cousin the last night.

I am really looking forward to being at the convention. We are going to have a lot of fun. And we will learn stuff too.

It will be fun seeing Ted, Ashley, and Travis again too.

Meeting Ted In Arizona

We had a wonderful night last night! We met Ted, Ashley and Travis at Rawhide, in the little "Wild West Town" of Chandler, Arizona, about 20 or 30 minutes south of Phoenix.

We enjoyed a great dinner in the dinning room of the steakhouse below. I had my favorite: salmon, and my Mike had baby back ribs. Ted was sitting next to me so I know that he had steak that looked very good. The dinning room wasn't this crowded and we practically had the place to ourselves. We had personal attention with the live music.



























We strolled through the dusty streets of the little town, and enjoyed watching Ted ride the mechanical bull. You will all have a chance to see that up live and personal on the blog and probably U-tube.

Other bloggers who came were my two niece's, Kristin and Jenny and her husband Daniel, and two other Arizona bloggers, Mike and Fred. Fred's not his real name, but that's what Mike calls him.

As many of you bloggers know, Ted, Travis and Ashley have traveled from coast to coast (they are planning to go to San Francisco after Vegas) and have been collecting cans from the bloggers they meet along the way. They donate the cans to the food banks in the respective cities.

One great blogger brought 200 cans! Good for her!

Ironically enough, Mike the other blogger (not to be confused with my husband Mike) and I both brought 18 cans. We had a tie and Ted, Travis and Ashley had to rack their brains to decide who to give the Roomba to. One of us had won the little vacuum, but who?

They came up with the idea of giving it to the one who could come the closest to guessing how long Ted could stay on the bull. We got to Rawhide before the rest of the guys and had watched another man ride the bull. I didn't count how long he stayed on it but later thought it was no more than 5 or 6 seconds.

I guessed 7 seconds.

Mike the blogger really! really! really! wanted the Roomba! He was trying everything he could think of to convince me that he really needed it.

His guess was 6 seconds, and was very disappointed when Ted stayed on the bull 7 1/2 seconds! I was counting one-thousand, two-thousand etc., and came up with 9 seconds. But my Mike had an actual counter and said it was 7 1/2 seconds.

I could feel the disappointment Mike was feeling. Unbeknown to him, my Mike and I had already decided to give it to him. I had told Travis what we planned to do before Ted got on the bull.

We all had a fun night of visiting, eating, talking, and riding the bull. Well, since Ted was the only one who rode the bull I guess you'll have to ask him how much fun that was.

The guys were exhausted! They had traveled from Dallas to Albuquerque, New Mexico the day before, and then from there to Phoenix arriving later than had been planned, about 8:15 PM.

Ted didn't look that excited to ride the bull but was a good sport. And really did a good job of it as you will all see.

It was great meeting you guys! We loved it!