Basket of Blessings 2013

November 1st -
1.  What a way to start my blessing basket!  I flew out of the Los Angeles Airport this morning at 7:15 and arrived in Salt Lake City at 9:30.  Allen called me a half hour later to tell me there had been a major shooting at the airport and the airport was just a mess!  Traffic was stopped and flights were cancelled.  I am so grateful that I was able to miss all that drama.  There was one person killed and several injured. How blessed am I?
2.  Marci and I were doing genealogy tonight and I had found that we were somehow related to some Mayflower passengers - William White and Susanne Fuller.  We found our line!  Marci told me that scholarships are given to college students for descendants of the Mayflower - that is exciting.  So grateful for Marci's patience in finding this.
3.  Grateful that I am in Salt Lake City with my family and going to have a week with my sisters and my cousin, Jean Bingham.  So grateful that Allen is so generous with me doing this.
4.  Grateful for my good health and for Allen's good health.  We have been so lucky to have no health issues.
5.  Grateful that I had an opportunity to grab a nap this afternoon sitting in Marci's car while she had her hair done.  That gave me an opportunity to catch up on some sleep as Allen and I got woken up this morning at 2 a.m.

November 2nd -
1.  Grateful that Marci and I were brave enough to try a new food today- Vietnamese food.  Yummy!  Glad that we had that adventure together.
2.  Grateful that Devin is going to let us borrow his truck to drive to Eden for our weekend.  It looks like it is going to snow, so this will be great and we can all drive together.
3.  While doing genealogy we discovered that we are descendants of Susanna Fuller and William White-Mayflower passengers!  Wow, what a fun thing to find.  Grateful for ancestry.com.  Also for Marci's sleuthing to find the link.
4.  On that note- how grateful am I for all the genealogy work Mom did on our family and she did the hard way.  Thank you so much Mom!  I am loving genealogy!  Who knew!
5.  I am grateful for our fore fathers and what they went through to establish this beautiful country.

November 3rd-
1.  Grateful for safe arrival to our super cool condo in a Wolf Creek.
2.  Not having to drive in a snow storm was awesome.
3.  Connecting with a fun cousin and super fun sisters.
4.  Jean's husband driving Jean up with all her supplies.  We had a lot of stuff with 4 women sewing and crafting.  Thanks Bill,
5.  Jean made Spanish Noodles and that was a recipe our Aunt Daisy (her grandma Daisy) used to make for us when we would go pheasant hunting at her house.  What a memory!

November 4th-
1.  What a fun day of sewing, laughing and remembering our families.
2.  Grateful that our parents taught us to love our extended family.
3.  Grateful that Allen is so generous to allow me to come up and visit with my family.
4.  Creative minds!
5.  Seeing deer outside our window and hearing geese!  Love it!

November 5th-
1.  Jean taught us how to make a bird's nest- it was very tricky to start with and it was tempting to just quit, but we all accomplished making a bird's nest.  Not a new hobby for me to take up but I have a much better appreciation for this skill.
2.  Brought up leftover pieces from a quilt and Carole loved it so I made her a bed runner with the help of all my designers!  Used up all the leftover fabric- yeah!  Sister happy- priceless.
3.  Accomplishing goals!
4.  Delicious food and fun movies!
5.  My brother had eye surgery today and he doesn't need to wear glasses anymore!  This is truly a miracle!  How exciting!  Truly blessed and grateful for this blessing!  My brother has worn glasses all his left since her was like 2!  Amazing!

November 6th-
Grateful for-
1.  Good food.
2.  Finished projects!
3.  Hot bath
4.  Lots and lots of fun with my sisters and cousin!
5.  Good books!

November 7th-
1.  Saw my brother without glasses for the first time EVER!  He has 20/30 vision!  What a miracle!
2.  Safe journey home to Salt Lake City and a safe flight home to Redondo Beach.
3.  Had dinner with Rob and Kathe and grateful that we had a good visit with them.
4.  Rob and Kathe bought me an antique rocking chair and it squeaks like my grandmother' s old rocking chair.  I love it.
5.  Craft day this weekend and I am so grateful for the most amazing enrichment leader ever- Sue Paullin!  Amazing!

November 8th -
1.  My sweet husband who helps me with all my many projects such as loading the car, fixing food for craft day tomorrow and just taking such good care of me!  How did I ever get so lucky?
2.  Rice bags that my daughters made me - had such a stiff neck last night and I heated one up and put on my neck last night as I slept and I am so much better this morning.
3.  Lots of friends helping out to make Craft Day 2013 amazing!  Lots of help setting up!  Yeah!
4.  Warm fall weather and pretty leaves!
5.  A wonderful visiting teacher who listens to me and cares - love Christy Simenski being my visiting teacher!

November 9th -
1.  So grateful for so many people helping me with the Craft Day today!  I know I mentioned it yesterday, but today was amazing with old and new friends pitching in.
2.  Grateful to Misty for bringing the girls down to Craft Day as a surprise!  I was very touched by Misty's support!  Very sweet!  Thanks Skooks!
3.  Rob was at the house and he and Allen helped unload the car - done!
4.  Had a two hour rest just watching an old movie to recover from Craft Day!  Grateful that Rob was here to visit with his Dad which gave me the opportunity to just stop!
5.  Grateful that Craft Day is over - lots of work!  Glad it went so well and the Soto Soup was a hit, but I am thankful it is done!

November 10th-
1.  Adorable Primary program today!  Absolutely the sweetest kids and lots of them!  When the young boys sang their parts for "A Child's Prayer" tears welled up in my eyes!  Very touching!
2.  A great visit with my friend Bethany!  I need Bethany and Misty to meet!  I think they would be great friends.
3.  A quick visit with Rob and Kathe before they head back to Prescott!  They also looked at some paintings that we have here and they are going to take some with them next time.  Yeah!
4.  A wonderful Relief Society lesson today given by Melody Hales on being kind to one another.  Going to work more on that!  Great lesson today!
5.  Still soda free!  Grateful for my determination.  Have been soda free since October 10th!  One month!  Hey!!!  Way to go to Misty and I!

November 11th -
1.  Very grateful for all our Veterans!  It is Veteran's Day and I have thought a lot about my Dad and his sacrifice to leave his wife and two kids at home!  I know it was a very difficult time for our Mom and Carole and Butch.  It had to have been rough on Dad as well!  I wish I had spoken more to my Dad about the Merchant Marines.  I don't anything about what he did.  I know that he went to Australia and New Zealand and loved it.  Grateful for Mark and Sean for their services too!  Very proud of those boys!
2.  Grateful that I am finally unpacked from the sister/cousin trip and things are somewhat back to order.  All the half in/half out stuff drives me crazy!  Done and done!
3.  Grateful for Imitrex - headache medicine (and NO Pepsi!) Had a headache most of the day.  We went to Costco and I finally came home and just stopped.
4.  Super grateful for Allen who just plugs along and fixes dinner and lets me rest!  What a wonderful man.
5.  Ran into Ronnie, a lady from church today at Costco.  She is 92 and she was there buying a freezer and her handyman, Manny, was trying to book a delivery.  He is from the Philippines and doesn't speak a lot of English and Ronnie can't hear on the phone.  We just happened upon them and Allen just pops up with "we will take care of that for you Ronnie!"  I drive Ronnie home and Allen and Manny drive away in the truck!  My hero in action again!

November 12th -
1.  What a fun day watching Daphne while Misty went to her doctor's appointment.  Daphne is just a joy to be with!  She has the sweetest little disposition and she is crawling and standing at 8 months.  She waves bye bye and nods "yes" - such a smart little whip!
2.  Bonus day getting to spend some time with super star Simon and cutie patootie Piper!  I didn't spend a lot of time, but had a good visit and a cookie break with them.
3.  Had lunch with Misty at a lovely outside Italian restaurant and shared some delicious food and dessert!  The cheese - I need to remember the name of that cheese!  Not mozzarella, but something ricotta??  I will find out - it was heaven on a plate!  Fun to have grown up time with Misty and just be together!  Loved it!  So grateful they live near us!
4.  Husband that understands when I say I need a nap and can you fix something for yourself for dinner and I have a meeting - Allen is just amazing!
5.  Great women that I work with in Relief Society - Christin Morgan and Jill Gillette - just love these two women!

November 13th-
1.  I love getting things done early!  For example I pulled the loft apart and cleaned the skylights and organized this area before family comes right after Thanksgiving.  I am happy when I get these kind of things done.
2.  I am rather a minimalist and I tend to throw things away - sometimes I throw important stuff (of Allen's away) and he says he needs to keep moving or I would throw him away - NEVER!  But I love that I don't need a lot.  I have gotten rid of a lot of my clothes - who needs 40 T-shirts?  I am happier with less.
3.  Found an easy way to polish silver - oh, so grateful for that!
4.  A hot bath and good book - love it!
5.  Visited Zella Stark in the hospital - she fell at her home when her foot went to sleep!  What a great attitude she has - ALWAYS!  She has always been the best example to me of untiring service to her family!  I am so glad her family is rallying around her.  She is amazing!  She always makes me feel so loved!  What a great quality!  I just love her!

November 14th -
1.  Great quote I found yesterday, "The unthankful heart...discovers no mercies; but let the thankful hear sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!"  Henry Ward Beecher.  I loved this!
2.  I am grateful for the ability to drive wherever I want.  I do feel so sorry for Ronnie at the age of 91 not being allowed to drive (however she does without a license and insurance.)  So I want my kids to know that when they think it is time for me to quit driving, you have my permission to tell me to stop and I promise that I will.
3.  Grateful for patient doctors who listen to their patients.
4.  Grateful that I am not giving up on free motioning quilting - I suck at it, but at least I haven't quit completely.
5.  Thankful to be finishing up some UFOs (unfinished objects!)

November 15th-
1.  Have to say right off the bat that I am grateful for my sweet daughter, Misty!  Happy birthday and know that I love you "this much and back around again!"  Hope it is a super day!
2.  Finished craft items!
3.  Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich lunch with my hubby, yum!  Both the sandwich and the hubby!
4.  Annette, the chef at the Cooking School, has invited Allen and I to come as her guests tonight to make a modern Thanksgiving!  How fun!  So glad I have made this new connection.  Annette is awesome and helps my confidence in the kitchen.
5.  Doctors appointment today - everything great!  Just need to look into getting more calcium into my body!

November 16th -
1.  Today was an amazing day! Allen helped me pack up all the workshop supplies for the last workshop for my quilt guild.  He has been a trooper about packing all this "crap" for the past two years!  So grateful it is over, but I have enjoyed it.
2.  Super friends at the quilt workshop who are always so understanding and kind to me.
3.  Our instructor, Bonnie Barker is a woman Marci and I met in SLC last year when we were at a knitting store.  We loved her quilted bag and asked about it and the next thing I am hiring her to teach one of our workshops.  She taught us how to make a braided rug.  She drove down with her husband Bruce.  She came last summer and dropped off to samples of the rug so that I could show the guild what she would be teaching.  This was the first class that we sold out and had a waiting list for.  But, I hadn't really discussed her traveling plans over with my counter part and friend, Marilyn Pond.  Well, I knew I needed to pay her mileage and I figured it out that it would be about $300 and her fee was $300.  I didn't realize I had to pay round trip - oh my gosh, my heart sank and all of a sudden I was paying Bonnie (who I adore, by the way) over $1,000.  We didn't make more than $300 on the class so I was putting the guild in the red!  Nice way to leave my position.  I lost two night's sleep worrying about this.  Many prayers said as to how I could fix this.  Well, tonight as Allen and I were driving to meet Rick and Misty for dinner I received a call from Bonnie.  She was very upset that I had given her so much money and said she absolutely refused to take the money for travel.  She was so sweet and so kind.  Long story short, I know - too late, we agreed to pay her $300!  My guild was quite relieved.  So grateful that I had established a good report with Bonnie and count her as a friend.  She really saved my face.  However, I do have to mention that I did just make the guild $4,100 in the live auction and I was the auctioneer and I was brutal on raising money for them.
4.  Grateful to our son-in-law, Rick for surprising our sweet daughter with a night out and included us.  It was great fun!  We seriously need to do this more.
5.  Grateful that I will have a good night's sleep tonight.

November 17th-
1.  Work up with a headache and asked Allen for two aspirins and more sleep.  Skipped sacrament meeting but felt good enough to make it to Sunday School and Relief Society.
2.  We had our Visiting Teaching lesson today and it was so tender and sweet.  Very motivating.
3.  Our sweet Relief Society teachers always do such a great job.
4.  Naps!
5.  Had to change my airline ticket to Austin as I had us coming home Sunday morning - oops, I am teaching Sunday morning!  Crazy me - got the flight changed at no cost!  Grateful!

November 18th-
1.  My hubby - he picks me a beautiful rose and delivers it to me in a vase!  Just love that!
2.  Pizza night!  Monday Football!
3.  Starting another braided rug and understood the directions from Saturday's workshop!  Yeah!
4.  Tea and shopping with Vicki Crum - I am her visiting teacher and we are getting together more frequently.  Love her!
5.  A clean house!

November 19th -
1.  Time alone to organize my kitchen and take inventory.
2.  Enjoying craft time.
3.  Yummy pork and homemade applesauce.
4.  Phone call from my friend, Kayleen and discussed our Paris trip.
5.  Found darling candy canes for our Christmas party at church.  Darling!

November 20th-
1.  Marriott allowing me to work just an hour or two to keep the travel benefits for my family, however, I believe it might be coming to an end.  It has been very kind of them to allow this for the past two years.
2.  Organizing fabric and craft room - love new containers.
3.  Getting rid of clothes to go to the Philippines to help out - Allen and I basically gutted our closets.  Who needs 30 T-shirts anyway!  Feels good to clear our.
4.  New Christmas tree - flocked!  That's a first! 
5.  Nan's family coming after Thanksgiving - how fun!

November 21st -
1.  Spent two great hours with Karen Binkley, my new genealogy friend learning how to start my Dad's history book.  So grateful for her time.  Ancestry.com is making do this project so much easier.
2.  Lovely rain!
3.  My niece, LaRea, called and told me she wants to buy our player piano.  I am grateful that it is staying in the family.  I was happy to pack up the piano rolls and get the piano ready to move out.  Excited to have her and Kirk come and spend the weekend.
4.  Getting fabric organized, cut into manageable pieces and put into nice bins.  Getting fabric to show our grandkids how to braid a rug.  Allen made boards to teach them on.
5.  Grateful for my sister Marci!  Excited for her going to be a new grandma in April.  It's a girl!!!

November 22nd -
1.  I am grateful for Emma!  It is her 19th birthday today!  Can't believe it!  Time just goes way too fast and in January she will be leaving for her mission in Florida!  They are coming here next week - can't wait!
2.  My sweet husband seeing that I was up at 7:30 and telling me to sleep in!  Twist my arm!  I love to sleep in!
3.  My sweet husband (do you think I love this guy or what?) fills my car full of gas all the time.  I think I can count on both hands how many times I have put gas in my car.
4.  My sweet husband helping me wash all the windows, move the couch and chair in the family room so I can clean and dust!
5.  My sweet husband making cinnamon rolls for our neighbors that came over to play cards!  I am married to the best man in the world!  So grateful!

November 23rd -
1.  Wow, I have gone from planning a trip to Paris with Kayleen in April and now adding a trip to Machu Picchu with Karen Binkley in May!  Then Allen and I are going to Ireland in September and he is going to Korea when we get back from Ireland.  2014 is going to be the travel year!  How excited am I?  The Peru trip just came up and Allen is like "book it!"  So cool!  Karen has been helping me with genealogy and her Father just passed away.  She has been taking care of her Father for the past 20 years after he had a stroke.  So her husband asked what I like to do and I said travel and he volunteered his wife!  So cool! 
2.  Gardening all done and nice and clean!
3.  Visited with my elderly neighbor, Martha Oliver.  She is starting to slip a little more each time I visit her.  She was a big traveler and she always gets so excited when I talk about our trips.  She said "do it now!!  I am listening to my elders.
4.  Fresh homemade apple pie - I made it rustic style!  Hope it is good!  My cooking teacher will fail me if it isn't!
5.  A hot bath and two aspirins!  Ready for my beddy bed bed!  Love my bed!

November 24th -
1.  Safe arrival of LaRea and Kirk.  They came to buy the piano.
2.  Friends that will help move said piano and a wonderful son-in-law, Rick helped too!
3.  Allen's tacos - just the bestest ever!
4.  Darling family photos of Misty and Rick's darling family - super lighting.
5.  Our sweet granddaughter, Piper saying "you are beautiful" to my niece LaRea - she said that just made her feel so good.  Love you Piper for doing that!

November 25th-
1.  Can't believe my first born son is going to be 44 today!  Ouch, wow, ouch, oh my gosh, how did that happen?  Just so proud of him and his sweet family!  Happy birthday Mark!  Love you so very, very much.  So grateful you are in my life!  You saved me more times than you know.
2.  Drove LaRea and Kirk up around the Pointe Vincente Lighthouse area - we live in a beautiful, beautiful area!  I love the weather here too!  So glad we don't have to shovel snow.
3.  Glad my daughter, Misty keeps an eye out for me!  My little "editor".
4.  Still Coke/Pepsi free - way to go Misty and I!
5.  Movie tonight with my friend Bethany.  Saw "The Book Thief" - it was so touching!

November 26th -
1.  Having a fun morning giggling and playing with adorable Daphne and lunch with adorable Misty.  She made risotto that was just so tasty!  She is an amazing chef!
2.  Allen was painting the living room when I got home from Misty's - we moved the piano and took down pictures so it needed to be painted.  The paint smells awful though, I hope that smell goes away!
3.  LaRea and Kirk arriving home safely and getting the piano in their home.  Hope they love it!
4.  Working on my talk for Relief Society - Misty gives me great feedback.
5.  Cheaper airline tickets and an upgrade for our trip to Peru!  Score!!  Way to go Karen's husband, Larry!

November 27th -
1.  Getting Christmas labels printed and card out of the attic.
2.  Thanksgiving ready to go into the oven and Misty is helping with quite a bit of the dinner.
3.  Waking up to having something to the resemble chicken pox just to find out it is a reaction to the shingle shot I had.  Whew!  Fortunately it is just a few spots and not painful.
4.  Nice walk to the store - I need to do more of this walking!  A little out of shape.  Back to the gym when we get home from Texas.
5.  Waldorf salad and stuffing!  Do I love these dishes!  Thanksgiving dinner has to be the best meal of the year!  So glad we have family to share it with.  Allen and I would have a hard time eating all this food by ourselves.

November 28th
1.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Had a great dinner with Misty, Rick, Piper, Simon and Ms. Daphne.  Misty did a lot of the cooking and for that I am very grateful!
2.  Dishes done by Allen and Misty - another grateful feeling!
3.  I got to watch a movie with Piper and Simon, but I may have to watch it again - but it looks fun! 
4.  Macy's Day Parade - what an amazing event this is every year and it just gets better and better.
5.  Have I mentioned how grateful I am that we survived our four wheeler adventure with Rob and Kathe?  I don't think I have.  If so, it bears more gratitude anyway!  Very grateful that our Heavenly Father saw fit for Allen and I to remain on this earth to enjoy our families.  That is as close to dying as I have ever come!  Very grateful!