Janet's Blog

Spinning, Spinning, Spinning!!!

2009-07-07T12:01:00.007-06:00

My first Physical Therapy session was yesterday.....I was in pain all night long!!! They tell me it gets better!
My knee has made a lot of improvement since these pics were taken.

We have been leasing the home we have been in for the last year, but apparently the owner hasn't been paying the bank and it was supposed to be sold at public auction TODAY!!! The owner got an extention so we can see if we can buy the house.....our former employer really messed us up that way by the way he "took care of our home in Nevada". We will let you know....hopefully we will be able to swing it!!

Time goes on. Yesterday Preston got his learner's permit and has been driving with his dad ever since. will I think I do what I did when Sandy learned to drive. I made a big sign for the back of the truck that said "Caution: Student Driver and Nervous Parents".

Aimee graduated from High School and is excited about attending BYU next fall. I had her lei made out of
one dollar bills folded like leaves and blue silk flowers.

A week after I had my surgery Alex had another litter, her fifth, of three females. I have told Rick I want Alex and Walker both "fixed" ENOUGH!!! She started to whelp as I was out the door to have my staples removed so I called a neighbor to attend her while she had her pups. The neighbor and her kids really enjoyed it. Good to have great neighbors!!! That's about it for now. We keep busy but love to hear from you and think of you all the time. Love, Janet

I FELL AND I CAN'T GET UP!!!!

2009-05-18T11:36:00.003-06:00

Well, my knee had finally "had it" and so decided last Monday to have my knee replaced the following Wednesday, tje 13th. So you knbow the drill, no food or water after 12 noon the day before but I was finally going to get this thing taken care of. So bright and early Wednesday I was at the hospital waiting axsiously for this new knee. After surgery I was doing great. ThePT
said I was amazing and things were going quite well. By Saturday I was really doing well and words like Amazing were being used discribe my recovery. So Saturday aftenoon I was off to a rehab place to continue my record setting recovery. By 10"00 that evening I was getting ready for bed and and low, something happened and I BROKE MY LEG.......SAME LEG. Just shattered the righ knee cap.....so it's off to the hospital in an amblance for evaluation......they have been evaluating ever since and about 11:00 this morning finally told me they would be doing surgery again tomorrow morning. This really the pitts for a b'day surprise! :o)

You might send up a little prayer for me, I'd appreciate it. My love to all of you and God bless
Janet

What a Busy, Busy Week......I wore a lot of hats!

2009-03-30T01:29:00.008-06:00

BE SURE AND READ THE FOLLOWING POST FOR TODAY AS WELL.
I have a friend in our ward here in South Jordan that I have known all my life. Her sister and I were very good friends all through school. Anyway, she has had 10 children.....WOW am I impressed!!! She does have a beautiful family and her husband is in our Bishopric. Anyway, I told her about six weeks ago that I would make her daughter's wedding cake for her reception on March 26th. Well, I have also been called as the Compassionate Service Leader in Relief Society. So on Sunday the 22nd, our neighbor's daughter died and was to be buried on THURSDAY!! I was near panic! But we have wonderful sisters in our ward that really pitched in and helped with the dinners and the luncheon after the funeral. That evening I was able to get the cake to the reception on time......so it was a good day. The neighbor's daughter was handicapped and had lived to be 30. She was a very sweet young lady.....we will all miss her. The bride was beautiful!
The circle of life.

During this time I was also trying to buy our house and the owner is trying to sell it to someone else. There's a story there!! Anyway, we are hanging on waiting for hopefully, good news and won't have to move. But it has been a very anxious few weeks. On top of that I have been dealing with the bank over the house we left in Nevada that the "Godfather" (Rick's boss that brought us back from Nevada and then closed the clinic) was supposed to take care of as part of our employment package. You would think at my age and with my experiences I would have gotten all this in writing, but let me tell you, he was smooth. So I have an appointment tomorrow to continue to deal with that and am anxiously awaiting papers on the house, which may or may not come. But you know what I did during all this stressful time? I shuck (how do you spell "snuck"? and is it even a word? I use it all the time) away, I told my mother in law I had an appointment and I went and got a massage.....didn't tell a soul I just went and guess
what? I am going to have another one this week!! I also think it will help my hip which has never really done as well as I had hoped.

I know the Lord has a plan for us and I only want the house if that is okay with Him and it's his will for us. I know he has a plan and that works for me!!!

A Wedding and a Sealing!!!

2009-03-30T01:10:00.004-06:00

March 6th was a wonderful day for our family. (I can not figure out why this is all underlined....and it's so hard to get pics where you want them. )Maybe that's why I don't write in my blog as often as I would like to. I was born a little late for all this high

tech stuff!! Anyway, what a great day. First we went to Amanda and David's sealing and honestly, I don't think I have ever been to a nicer one. It was a very spiritual experience.
Amanda and David looked like the perfect couple they are. We were so glad and happy and grateful to be there. Then we all went to lunch at the Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square given by David's family and had a wonderful lunch and good time. Then it was back to the Salt Lake Temple were Wendy and Paul were sealed. My heart could've just sung. What a gift that day was. I will always remember and Cherish it. I made the cake as Amanda and David designed it and it turned out just the way they wanted it. I think they did a very clever thing. They had their reception the night BEFORE the wedding, which took all the major stress off of the wedding day itself and after the wedding and the sealing we were all able to go home and just relax.
I am very blessed.

A SHOWER FOR AMANDA!!

2009-02-21T09:57:00.005-07:00

The ladies of Amanda's home ward.....and my old ward....gave Amanda a very nice shower
on Thursday February 19th. We had the shower at the home of Marjean Bingham and it
was hosted as only Marjean can do it! It was a fun, fun evening and Amanda received a lot
of very nice things. Next Saturday, after Amanda receives her endowments we will have
a "family shower" and luncheon at Teri's.....I am looking forward to that.
Amanda received a nice set of towels, a shower curtain and hooks from Grandma Nell. I gave her a starter tool kit all her own.......hammer, nails, flashlight etc.,

2009-02-15T15:29:00.006-07:00

The excitement is in the air. Only 18 more days until my oldest grand daughter Amanda, marries her sweetheart, David Christensen, in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple. We have showers to go to and I am going to make the wedding cake. It will be a white fondant. Then, after Amanda and David's wedding and luncheon, we will go back to the Salt Lake Temple where my third daughter, Wendy, will be sealed to her husband, Paul Gaskins, for "Time and All Eternity". What a great day it will be for our family.

Pretty Views From My Bedroom

2009-01-14T00:59:00.005-07:00

The funny story I mentioned on Facebook is the previous entry to this one.

I was making the bed the other day and thought how beautiful the sun was on the Oquirrh Mountains, and I should take some pictures. So here are a few. Our ward building is just to the Southwest of us (Preston jumps the fence) and the Salt Lake Equestrian Center is just to the Northwest of us. Preston goes over to watch the races etc., on a regular basis. We love living here. We are about one mile from a shopping center and a movie theater with 20 screens to the West and we are about five miles to a very big shopping center to the East, along with Costco and dozens of places to eat. There is also a small strip mall about a mile to the East of us. We are 3 1/2 miles from Sonic. Rick is about 3 1/2 miles from work, just across the street from Sonic!!!! I love this location. I hope our offer on the house goes through......time will tell.

If you look really closely at the fourth picture down you can see the new Oquirrh Temple. The Oquirrh Temple is l 1/2 miles to the West of us and the Jordan River Temple is 1 1/2 miles to the East of us.

Nose Hair!!

2009-01-13T23:58:00.005-07:00

It's funny, nose hair never entered my mind until about ten years ago. Well, this is a story about nose hair!!

I have been waxing my nose for some time now and just love it. It is really so cool. Anyway, I was telling this to a very good friend of mine, who shall remain anonymous, and I asked if she would like me to do her nose hair. She said sure, and I did it and she loved it as well.

Six weeks or so later, I am visiting her ( last Friday), I had brought my nose wax in case she wanted me to do a follow up. We were talking and she said she had gone out and bought the supplies and would I take care of her nose hair while there using her stuff. Sure!!

All her supplies looked good......she had bought some kind of wax that was chocolate flavored.......and colored. So when it was warm, she laid down and I put it into her nose and waited for it to firm up.......it wasn't firming. Well, that wax wasn't going to do the job, but luckily I had brought mine in case she had wanted a follow up and didn't have the supplies. So I picked all the chocolate wax out of her nose that I could reach , and it didn't come easily! It was hilarious. When my wax was warm I filled her nostrils with it, and when I pulled out the hardened wax, a lot of chocolate came with. Some of the wax didn't come out on first try so I picked it out and her nose was perfect. However, we will not be surprised if she blows chocolate on occasion for some time. This was really, funny but my friend made me promise not to post her name or any photos. Photos we didn't take because we were laughing so hard.

Catching Up!!

2008-12-22T11:54:00.009-07:00

I must apologize.....I have no idea how to get these pictures in any kind of order or where I want them so you'll just have to muddle through......

There are two wedding cakes here. The chocolate one is one I made for a very dear girlfriend in July. Her name is Gail and we have been friends since our days at the University of Georgia. Her cake was chocolate with strawberries. The groom was allergic to wheat so when it was time to give him a bite of cake Gail gave him a strawberry!!!

The yellowish cake is Julie's rice krispy cake!!! I never did get a picture of the original cake.

It has been a wild and frantic year, but I will try to catch up and not be so delinquent in the future. We had b'days this year and Grandma had a new cake pan and everyone wanted a cake from that. (Grandma's not going to get any more new cake pans!!!)

Alex and Walker had another litter. We gave one of the puppies to Wendy and Paul.......and then end up puppy sitting her from time to time......I am not going to give Wendy and Paul another puppy. Alex had four with this litter. I would like her to stop and sit a few times out but I don't want to have Walker fixed........and it's impossible to keep them apart. Litters are a lot of work. By the time we got rid of the last puppy I was ready to neuter Walker myself.

Sandy got an engagement ring from boyfriend Kent in July. Wendy tried out for "Deal or No Deal" here in Salt Lake City. I could not believe the number of people at the auditions. Had to see it to believe it. I looked all over for a picture of Wendy with Paul and couldn't find one.....it's not easy to get a picture of Paul. Also Paul's second son, Jeremy, graduated from the Salt Lake City Police Academy in November and Paul's oldest son, Brenden, got married that same week end in California.

I did some engraving for youth conference and for our Stake Relief Society. I still enjoy my engraving.

Julie got married in September and I made the wedding cake ..... twice and the grooms cake (which sadly I didn't get a picture of) The first wedding cake I drove up the mountain to the wedding venue the night before the wedding and when we got there about 11:30 pm and went to unload, the cake was broken, split right down the center of a couple of layers. Still good enough to serve but there is no way I was going to have a ruined cake for Julie. I went back home, stopping at Wal Mart on the way. There was no time to bake another five tiered cake, so I bought rice krispy's and marshmallows and headed home arriving about 2:30 am. I baked one tier of real cake and made all the other "cake" layers out of Rice Krispies and marshmallows. I then decorated the whole thing and finished by about 9:00 am the day of the wedding. Vicki and I took it back up the mountain (around Sundance) and no one was the wiser. We still served the original cake and the grooms cake.....and of course if you were in the mood for rice krispy treats, there was plenty. I have never seen Julie happier. It was a wonderful day. Always so good to have the entire family together.

The end of October came and I went with Vicki to St. Louis to the Missouri Auction School. Yes, there are now two "Colonels" in the family. Vicki and I both graduated from auction school and I must say, we are quite impressive as auctioneers. Vicki has her own auction company called the Golden Girls Auctions........I will probably just use my new "talent" for cub scout bake sales etc., But it was sure a lot of fun........and I even engraved my gavel!! The picture of me with the mike is me doing my first auction. What fun. It was a big crowd and I auctioned off two items. This was done during the school in Missouri.

The end of October and first of November brought another surprise. The owner of the Utah Pet Center where Rick was Chief of Staff, and a multi million dollar facility CLOSED!!! We couldn't believe it. It was the craziest thing I have ever heard of. They were seeing over 100 patients a day after being open only four months and the owner just said CLOSE. Thankfully, Rick can do relief work for other clinics and surgeries until something permanent comes along. Life is good and I am anxious to see what miracles are already on the way for us.

Rick's mother came to live with us on May 8th and seems to be liking it here.

Preston continues working on his black belt and doing well in school. He has also taken horseback riding lessons this fall, which he has thoroughly enjoyed.

We have been able to go to a couple of Little Big Town concerts this year. We love OUR band.

Granddaughter, Amanda, got engaged a couple of weeks ago and we are really excited for her and David. They are a darling couple and it does the heart good.

Well, that's about it for headlines.....don't want to bore you with details, but some are doozies. It wouldn't hurt to remember me in your prayers .....that's always a good thing.

Where Has The Time Gone????

2008-06-25T11:01:00.003-06:00

We have been busy and loving every minute. Some of the pictures are of: Preston's first shave!,
Preston's ordination to the office of Teacher on Mother's Day. In the photo, left to right are:
Paul, Wendy's husband, David, Amanda's boyfriend, Jason, Dad, Preston in front, our Bishop, Bishop Brad Banks, his counselor, Bro. Nielson, and his other counselor, Bro. Christensen. The next pic is me on Mother's Day opening a gift......it was so close to my b'day that this can be considered a b'day pic as well! Rick's mother, Nell Thwaits, who has come to live with us. She has been here since the 8th of May. Rick, Paul and Jason are flying down to NM on the 11th of July to pick up her things and bring them up. Next is Amanda and David at Alisa's b'day "party",Then me and Vicki during her visit just before we left for another day of shopping!, A picture of Alison with Alisa's b'day cake. I don't know why we don't have a pic of Alisa with it???

Alex is due to whelp any day now and we are excited. Rick is loving his new job. Preston spends a lot of time at the Equestrian Center in back of our house.......and I just keep doing what I do!!! Julie is coming down this week end and we are looking forward to that. I finally have my sandblaster working although it is harder to operate now since the foot peddle isn't working ~ but I manage.....and love having it up again. That's about it for now. I will try to update more often......just hit a really busy time!

SONIC In the Neighborhood!!

2008-05-07T01:10:00.003-06:00

Well, I am so excited. I have been driving clear over to Bangarter and 76th South for my Sonic drink on my way to pick up Preston at school every day during Happy Hour. Then just last Saturday Rick discovered a Sonic really close just a little East of Redwood Road on 90th South. I am so happy to have one so much closer!!! Life is good. Still Unpacking!!!

Still Moving......Will the Boxes Ever End!!!!

2008-05-05T01:15:00.006-06:00

The movers arrived on the 18th of April and again on the 21st and I have been unpacking and moving in ever since. There was quite a bit of damage done to our things. Our sofa table arrived missing two legs and the protective box I had for my Lladro "Christus" was crushed. My Lladro "Christus" was also slightly damaged, you should have seen how they packed it. I was dumbfounded. Looking back I guess I should have packed everything myself but I wasn't up for that either.....those days are in my rear view mirror!! Some of the reason the move has been slow to get finished is my lack of agility and absence of help....Preston is at school all day, Rick is at work or out of town on business (He has been to Michigan the first weekend after we moved and will be going to Houston on the 17th and there have been or going to be a total of two father and son campouts during this first six weeks or so!) I have to pick up Preston at school everyday because he is going to school in another district because when we moved here we just picked a school thinking it would be "about" where we would choose to live and it was.......just one school district over. I also drive him to Orem after school three days a week (about 30 miles one way) to his Karate lessons.....that also cuts into my unpacking time. ....but I am making progress. The first thing I did when I moved in was to get the guest room ready for guests and the guest bathroom ready. I was expecting old friends, the Allens, from Arizona. They did come by and it was delightful, but sadly, they weren't able to stay the night. However, we were blessed with Connie and her mom and the four little ones coming last Friday for the night. It was wonderful to see them all again. How thankful we were to have them. I helped Teri with a church assignment which I enjoyed and today Rick, Preston and I were asked to speak in church this next Sunday ~ on Mother's day....surely, it's because I have been such an exemplary mother ~ and Preston will also be ordained a Teacher that day as well. His 14th b'day is this Thursday. I have no clue when I am going to prepare my talk. Rick and Preston are on their own!!! The clinic opens full swing tomorrow morning and I will have to start getting Preston to school by 7:30 am, as Rick will no longer have time before he has to be at work. Rick is loving his job and it is very exciting for us. Oh, yes, I forgot, we also received an audit from the IRS during all this moving for the year 2006, all I have to do is send them a check by the 28th, I really don't agree with it but our tax man said to just pay it and get it closed, I guess it's best just to get it over with according to him, especially if the amount is somewhat small?!?!?!.......and Alex and Walker are expecting another litter in a couple of months. Pictures above are of LaRee and Kerry Allen, our neighbors when we lived in Mesa, Arizona in 1977.......oh, how I love them. They visited last Thursday, it was way too short!!! Oh, yes, I also have friends in my new ward that I knew growing up......Gayla Millis now Gayla Nielson and Madelyn Jarvis and Mark Thomas....now Mr. and Mrs. Mark Thomas from Manassa........small, small world. I am just loving it and can't wait to get unpacked and settled. Rick's mom will be here for an extended visit in about two weeks, so I am really going to try to get everything done by then!!!

Helping Grandma Move!!!

2008-04-16T22:57:00.004-06:00

The moving truck won't be here until tomorrow and it's Spring Break so all the kids came out to help me get the house ready to move into. Some of the pictures were "posed" and taken while I wasn't looking and I was tickled when I uploaded them this evening. I especially liked the one of the kids sitting on TOP of the pantry!! The kids were a great help as were their mothers and I might add Jason came out to help as well and add some great ideas. Paul brought food ~ a very welcome treat!!
The top picture is "Yes, we even got that vent dusted!!", Second is a picture of the boys cleaning all the baseboards ~ great help! Third picture is of the girls dusting stair rails. Next is Aly and Alisa dusting walls. Of course, this next one is an "entertaining" picture and last but not least is on top of the pantry in the kitchen!!

Last Week End at "The Camp"

2008-04-12T11:40:00.010-06:00

The boys decided they wanted to spend the night one last time before Grandma and Grandpa move into their new house. The house we have been living in for the last couple of months is old and "curious".....offering adventure and daring, being "rickity" and so close to the freeway and some wide open spaces!!! So stay they did!!! We had Costco pizza and apples....they have the best apples....and a generally a good time. They forgot to bring clean clothes so we washed them last night so they would have clean for today. Grandpa fixed pancakes for breakfast. Meanwhile, they had fun with the "laundry shoot" a make shift hole in the floor above the washroom. Never a dull moment. Wendy came by early this morning and I took her to the try outs for "Deal or No Deal". Tons of people there. I told Wendy I couldn't believe she was trying out, she won't even give a talk in church without hyperventilating, but she was perfectly calm and excited. I hope she is having a good time. I will go pick her up when she calls. My sister Vicki will also be going through town with her daughter Marla this evening and I will meet them "on the road" to say hi.....they are going to try to get as far as Boise tonight. I am including a picture of Walker and Alex, our two Yorkies. I keep them clipped short, because they are so much easier to keep clean that way. ..... especially in the warmer weather. They are so spoiled.

Happy Birthday Wendy!!!

2008-04-07T13:50:00.013-06:00

We had a good time at Wendy's last night. Paul had a get together for her 35 th birthday.
I FINALLY got to meet David, Amanda's friend, and just thought he was darling. Kelly and Doug were there which was a pleasant surprise. They are very nice kids and always are so good to me. Jacob had stitches in his chin. Danny's wrist is healing nicely. Jeremy was there with his friend, Amanda, she made some wonderful cookies. Others attending were of course, Paul, my sweetheart, Grandpa Rick, Teri and Jason, Aimee, Alisa, Alison, Andrew and Preston. It was just a love fest!!! We all had such a great time and it was so good to be with family. It just doesn't get any better
Jeremy and his Amanda are at the bottom in white. Wendy and Paul in the bigger picture at the top, My Amanda and her David in the second picture, on the left, and Kelly and her brother Doug (Mike & Kays two youngest kids) are in the middle picture on the right!! A great group

My Sister is a STAR!!!

2008-04-02T19:54:00.001-06:00

There was a great article in the newspaper in NM about Vicki and the Flickenger Center this
week. I am very proud of the work she is doing. The link is

http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_8762754?source=most_viewed I hope it is still available.
Vicki is doing a tremendous job there. Congratulations!!!

A House, Karate and a Birthday!!

2008-04-01T02:46:00.004-06:00

This last Friday we finally found a house and will be moving in the 15th of April!! Our new address will be 11308 Pervenche Lane, South Jordan, Utah 84095! Then on Saturday, we went to Preston's Karate Tournament, his first in two years, and he came away with a second place in self defense. Rick's 56th birthday was today, and we had a small gathering here at our "camp" with Teri, Jason, Aimee, Alisa and Alison, Wendy, Jacob, Andrew and Daniel. We had sandwiches and birthday cake and a good time. It's so good to be close to family once again.

The Sun Sisters in Lake Tahoe

2008-03-27T13:28:00.005-06:00

We had a wonderful time. We visited, talked, visited, went to the movies, visited, made cards, toured Virginia City, visited, toured around the lake, visited, and just had a great time. We ate a caramel apple a day, sat outside under the stars in the hot tub. We rented a car and painted the windows It was just a fine time. (.... except for the time I spent at the airports being patted down, thanks to my artificial hip, and of course my luggage was over weight both ways.....and inspected both ways......., they left greeting cards in my luggage explaining, and two of my flights were delayed. Flying just isn't the fun it used to be) But we had a wonderful time and we will have to do this again!!!

2008-03-03T12:31:00.002-07:00

I made this music player at MyFlashFetish.com. More colors.

We are going to have a slumber party at Lake Tahoe

2008-03-02T23:34:00.001-07:00

I can't believe I haven't written since August '07 ~ not that plenty hasn't been happening!
I am excited about my up coming trip. It started when I invited a couple of my friends from grade school to come visit me when I was living in Sparks, Nevada. I had some extra time on our timeshare in Lake Tahoe so we all agreed we would meet on March 9, 2008 in Reno, I would pick everyone up and we would go to Lake Tahoe for five days! Only problem is I moved in January to Utah!! So I have booked a flight back, arranged for a SUV rental and the party goes on!! I am excited. Nancy "Sunshine"'s father worked with my dad and our families knew each other very well. Then Nancy #2 "Sunrise"....her mother was my first grade teacher. Deanna "Sunflower"'s mother was my mothers best friend. Sunshine, Sunrise and Sunflower were all in the same third grade class when I was in the first grade at Bel Air Elementary School in Albuquerque, NM. We went all through high school together. I was Sunshine's maid of honor at her wedding. We are going to have such a great time. I just can't wait. Oh, by the way, I'm Sundance!!

Cindy and Ali's Baptism and Alex has FIVE!!

2007-08-27T00:19:00.000-06:00

I guess since Wendy and Connie are keeping blogs, I will join them. We just got back to Sparks this evening after a long drive but it was so worth it. We were in Orem, Utah to attend the baptism of my grand niece Cindy Sowards and my grand daughter, Alison Bench. Cindy and Alison were born on the same day, August 20, 1999 just hours apart. They were also blessed on the same day and we had a big family picnic afterwards with both babies. It only follows that they should be baptized at the same time, which they were on August 25th in Orem. What a beautiful day it was for everyone. It was so good to get the families together again. What a delightful day. We all went to bed exhausted and happy.
During the night our Yorkshire Terrier, Alex, whelped her third litter. She had five pups; four girls and one boy.......which was very much unexpected since the last two litters were ALL boys. Walker, the proud papa was at her side the whole time. Upon discovery in the morning we made her comfortable with the puppies in the car and along with Walker, Preston, Rick and Nell we headed back to Sparks. Alex, Walker and pups are all doing well. I bathed Walker and Alex after we arrived home and washed their pen really well. They are resting comfortably. I will post pictures tomorrow!!