I'm Baaaaaackkkk!!!

After a year and couple of months I have decided to end my hiatus from the blogging world and try again. So those of you who care, I'm BACK!!! And for those of you who don't, I'm BACK!!!!
  Actually, all I did was go private for some strange reason. Which also seemed to inhibit my blogging abilities too. So for fun, and for posterity, and for something to do I will resume my slovenly efforts here.

I never truly left. As in I blog stalked all my friends. So I have just decided to stop being selfish and allow you all to reciprocate!!! Hahahaha. I know. I'm a funny one. As the old saying goes, "No one enjoys me as much as myself"!! (that's for you miss Tricia!).
Anyway, the fun begins anew!!!

500 days of Summer!! (Well, not that many, but who's counting?)

Ashley and the Boy!!!


My baby!! At 3 1/2 months



So serious, and adorable too!!

Aunt Allie can get him to smile!!

Little Sam's blessing day!
August 5, 2010

Brad and Lexi's wedding day! (The day before little Sam was blessed)

Mark and his little man on his blessing day!

Ashley's birthday celebration. Four generations!!

Sam's and my getaway trip in June to Big Bear and L.A.

Us on Big Bear Lake

Heather and her new husband, Wade with Z!
(married June 4th)

Allie's graduation day from Dental Hygiene School May 12, 2010

Tanner got to visit Taylor in the MTC for an hour, since he came home

1 1/2 weeks after Taylor left.

A very Happy Day! Tanner came home from Russia, April 27th!

Taylor in Birmingham, England - w/ his mission pres. and wife (the Ogdens)

Taylor in the MTC - he entered April 22, 2010

The day Taylor was set apart as a missionary (April 14th)

Taylor at his "Open House" before leaving for England.

The Greatest "Gig" on Earth!!!

LITTLE SAM! SAMBINO! SAMMY! BUBBY OR BUDDY! THAT'S OUR GUY! HE'S HERE! AND WE ARE ALL SMITTEN, IN LOVE, WHOOPED, WRAPPED AROUND HIS TEENY TINY FINGER!!!

DOUBLE CHIN AND ALL!!

LOOKS LIKE THE LATEST DANCE MOVE!

WE FINALLY GOT HIM TO OPEN HIS EYES A BIT!

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PIC! GRANDPA SAM WITH LITTLE SAM.

OOHHHHH!! LOVE THOSE CHEEKS!!!

Ok. My blogs are starting to read like my journal! I start out "cracking a joke" about how I really blew my goal of "writing everyday, or every week or -fill in the blank". Then describe in detail the reason or excuse for my neglect! Then swear I'll never do it again, as long as I live (or until next time!!)

And THEN . . . I get going on what reeeeealllly inspired or motivated me to pick it up again. By now, my hand is cramped, I am droopy eyed, and floppy headed, and my shoulders are in vice grips of pain!! And thus the cycle has begun again and I only get about half way done, or only a small part of what I really wanted to share, before I lose all feeling in my body and forget half of what I really wanted to share anyway, and quit!!

So what was it I wanted to say???? My shoulders are screaming at me-- hold on-- let me do some shoulder shrugging exercises --ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Much better. For the moment.



Ok, onward and forward.



Well, since the last time I wrote, (was it last year?? Nah, only a month or two ago!!) I found out my next grandbaby is going to be another boy!!! Yippee!!!
That is thrilling!!
I can't wait to be Grandma (or Grammy, or nana, or popey or got any good ideas??) to little Sam, Pacer, Dexter, Ahijah?????? (I know, I know, Ash, Ahijah is not in the running!! Even if it IS a family name and a bible one at that!!!).
Do you know what that means for me to be a grandma? Well, let me tell you . . . see I have a daughter, Ashley. She is married to Mark, and they did the business and now Ash has a baby inside her and. . . . ok. My lame attempt at a bit of humor. (It's late! ).
No but really - besides the fact that it automatically dates me, what it means to me is that the buck has passed! We will have successfully moved on or up the progression chart of life! We have stood up against the wall with a yardstick, and the mark has been made, and in review have grown an inch or two in this thing we call life!
I know this happened when Miles was born last December. But without him here with us as a constant reminder, it's a lot easier to pretend that we have not moved into the next realm of parenthood. But with this little guy!! Well, bring it on, is all I have to say!
I have mixed emotions about it all. My kids are grown up. My baby leaves for his mission in a month and 4 days. My second youngest will be home from his mission a couple of weeks after that. And who knows how long he will be at home with us? But honestly, grown kids at home is really like having roommates who don't pay their share, more than children (I'm not knocking it, just stating facts!)
But a baby??!! A little person?!!!! Wonderful, beautiful, needy, adorable baby!! And one that I don't have to get up with in the middle of the night, breastfeed, or discipline (too much!)! How awesome is that??? They take out all the worst parts of parenthood for grandparents and add a dose of spoiling and waala!- Paradise!!!
Yes, I am excited to pass the buck of parenthood to the next generation!! I will enjoy this new place to be! And Ashley and Mark, and all my other kids down the road when you are parents - if you see me chuckling under my breath once in awhile- don't be offended. Or annoyed. Or hurt. Remember the old saying - "I'm laughing WITH you, not AT you"!!
Nah. Just kidding. I'm laughing AT you!!! It's my way of saying, "Been there, done that!" "There is justice in this world!", "You really DON"T know everything"!!!
Going deeper, I'm also saying, "Stay with it!", "I understand!", "this too will pass, and then we will laugh together!!", and "I am so happy and proud of you"!

LIFE!! Onward and upward we climb! (Doesn't it just make you want to break into the "the circle of life" song from Lion King?)
Acuna Matata!!!

What?!! It is what it is!!

Ok, so two months later, I guess it's time to update!!! But where to start?

I can't really say I neglected my blog because I was too busy!! Although at times, that would be true. (Christmas etc).

I don't know- call it burn out, laziness, brain fart, you decide- I just couldn't get into it! Don't think that I didn't READ everyone else's!! I wasn't burned out on that!! I just couldn't be a contributor to the cause!! But I'm back!! I don't know for how long, but just know, that for now, I'm here!!

So what to uplift, inspire, entertain you with?????

Ahhhhh, forget it--- I'm just going to do an update!!!

Since my last blog---things that have made me happy!!!

1- Christmas!!! -get togethers, presents, family, and more family. And talking to my Tan man on Christmas night!!!

2- trip to San Diego! - family, sister in law, Paula's basketball team games, lovely beach!! Great times

3- New Year's Eve- Sue Sue's awesome New Year's party and Walkers' too!! Whoop whoop!!!

4- The biggy news: Tay gets his mission call - Birmingham, ENGLAND!!!! Leaves April 16th!!

5- Another big news for our fam - Sam is made bishop!

6-not big news, but had to add something about me (it is ALL about me, right???): I'm called to be "building scheduler"!!!! (I know!! You're jealous!!! Oh the power!!) At least I get to still be Laurel advisor!! Or at least I'd better, or the bishop will be sleeping on the couch!!!

7- Realize that Tan will miss Tay by about a week and a half!! (Not so great!)

8-Celebrated Aaron's 2-4 birthday (as well as surviving taking the MCAT!)

9-Miss Heather gets engaged!!

10-read a few good books during this time frame!!! (ex. 'Mr. Darcy's Daughters', 'Left to tell: [something to do with Rwandan genocide]', 'Saboteur', 'Life of Pi', etc. -that's all I can remember)

That's about all for now. Taylor getting ready for his mission is what we talk about most. We are all very excited for him and he is ecstatic!!! I'm jealous, actually!!! I sure hope we will be able to go over to get him when he's done!!! Woohoo!!! That's my dream!

Well, that's all for now.

2010 looks to be a great one if going by the first month!!!!

And now for the procrastinator's finale!

Well ok, my motto has just been switched from "Better late than never", to "Good intentions never die, you just do"!!!

So in light of it being December 1st, Thanksgiving over and done with, and that feeling that I MUST complete, I must!! I will just finish up my Days of Gratitude in one fell swoop - no clever explanations; no sorry - just ain't gonna do it - just my list of, what # am I on????? 20???? I'm even going to resort to the obvious and givens!!! So here goes!!

Days of Gratitude:

20 - I am grateful for temples. The AZ one in particular! (my all time fave!!)

21 - I am grateful for my children. All grown up and all!! Miss them being around a lot but it's so great to know they are so capable and great!!!

22 - Grateful for coconut cream pie!!

23 - grateful for my calling as Laurel Advisor. Love, love, love it!

24 - grateful for my siblings. Quirks and all!

25 - grateful for Sam's family

26 - grateful for food, glorious food!!

27 - grateful for music!!! Almost all kinds!!! Especially 70's music!!!! (that dates me!!)

28 - grateful for poetry

29 - grateful for my Savior

30 - grateful for my Father in Heaven and the knowledge that He lives and loves me!

There!!! Done!!!

I'm grateful that this is over!!!! And that Christmas season is here!!! Deck the Halls, Hallelujah, Joy to the World and all the rest!!!!

Nov. 19th - #17 day of gratitude

#17 day of Gratitude

I am grateful, along with 50 million other females for the book/movie series Twilight! This is in honor of "New Moon" coming out tonight at midnight!!! No, I will not be one of the crazies staying up all night to see it, but I do want to and hopefully will go in the morning!!!

What is it that has grabbed so many of us? Vampires? Werewolves? Romantic sickening love?

I can understand the appeal for all the teenage girls!! But me and most of my friends are not young blossoms!!! I know part of it is getting all caught up in the thrill and hype of it! Everyone around us is going nuts, so it's fun to jump on the bandwagon!!!

But it has to be more than that!! We are all dreamers!!! We all love adventure, underdogs, romance to the gazillion times, old fashioned guys who respect the girls!! And of course, perfection!!! We love that Eduard is perfectly beautiful and perfectly in love with Bella!! Ahhhhhh. Siiiigggggghhhhhhh. It's a girl's total fantasy!!!

Of course, what also thrills me is that not only is Eduard in love with her, but hunky Jacob is too!! I MUST BOLDLY STATE: I LOVE JACOB!!!!! Yes, I like Edward, but Jacob?!!! He was always there for Bella. When things got tough, he was there for her!!! Yes, I have strong feelings for him--almost more than for Eduard. What can I say? I'm a rebel, I know!!!

But who wouldn't be thrilled with not one, but two gorgeous hunks, totally different, but gorgeous just the same, in love with and fighting over you? Admit it!! It is a beautiful thought!

Nov. 18th - #16 day of gratitude

#16 day of Gratitude-

I am grateful for good teeth. I have been blessed with good genes when it comes to teeth. So far. I never went to the dentist growing up. Literally, the first time I went was when I was 19 years old. My parents grew up during the depression. And so the mantra, "If it ain't broken, why fix it?" was something they lived by. I never had a tooth ache or cavity or problem with my teeth. So the summer I was 19, right before heading up to BYU, I could see a little black line in one of my teeth, so it was determined I should check it out. So days before leaving, I went to the dentist. Had 8 small cavities. He filled them all at once--seeing as I was leaving for BYU too soon to come back. And I have had no others since. I hope this good luck continues. Oh, also, I never needed to wear braces. Which is good for me, because even if I would've needed to, I doubt that would have been an option for me!! Lucky me!!!

Nov. 17th - #15 day of gratitude

#15 day of gratitude

I am grateful for puppies. So, no, I do not have one. We had a dog once. His name was Nicky. He died. He actually was a great dog.

But I love puppies! Some day, when my husband allows me (ha, Sam will appreciate that statement!!), I want my own little puppy. Well, what I really want is a tiny little teacup poodle (my ultimate dream dog) or another very small sized loveable doggy who always looks like a puppy, even full grown! It will be my baby. My unconditionally, always loves me, never talks back to me, always wants kisses, only has eyes for me, never grows up and leaves me baby! I guess you could say I am thinking above the mark. Being thankful for something I don't have yet??!! But I do really love puppies! And most babies of any type!(Except scorpions, spiders, roaches, etc you get the picture!) So, maybe, I should have said;

I am grateful for babies of all types!!!

Nov. 16th - # 14 day of gratitude

#14 day of gratitude

I am grateful for my name. Rhea was my paternal grandmother's nickname. I don't know all the details and I don't know if anyone really did, but for some reason Martha Marie turned into Rhea. (I'm really glad I got the nickname though!)

Anyway, it is original. I rarely meet another one. There's Rhea, the mother of Zeus. the Rhea bird, which is similar to an ostrich only smaller. There is Rhea Perlman, the wife of Danny Devito, and co star of the old series "Cheers". (Ok, she is not really one I want to claim!). There is Caroline Rhea (she took over for Rosie O'donnell, and also, was in that show with the witches??? can't remember the name at this time!). But I don't know if I can even count her at all, because she pronounces it like "Ray" - can you believe that??

I like that I am named after my grandmother. I have some memories of her. I was about 12 or 13 when she died. When the family was going through her stuff after she died, they found a bible of hers, with the name "Rhea Whatcott" in it (which was my name at the time!). So it was unanimous that I should get that! I thought that was pretty cool as a 12 yr. old. Not too shabby for a 48 yr. old too, even though I never have found a large stash of money hidden in it or anything!!

But, even though it is not at the top of the "most popular names of the decade"-well, it's not or never has been on the list even, I happen to like it a lot. What I can't figure out though, is that no one I know, am close to, or have birthed have shown any inclination or interest is naming one of their offspring after me!!!

Nov. 15th - #13 day of gratitude

#13 day of gratitude

I am grateful for sparkley things!

I love jewelry that sparkles, glittery things that sparkle, blingey things that sparkle and eyes that sparkle!! Anything shiny and pretty and girly, I like! So the styles these days with bling, and decor around the house glittery? The more the better, I say! Hey, skulls at Halloween-glitterize them and they're pretty even!!! My awesome daughter in law and daughter gave me these flip flops that are all blinged out!!! Love them!!! Thanks guys!! I sure hope this trend stays with us for awhile!!!

Nov. 14th - #12 day of gratitude

#12 day of gratitude-

I am grateful for Arizona falls. Don't you just love the weather now? So it comes a little later than other parts of the country. But it is here. So enjoy the cool cool mornings (at 6:30 am couple of days ago, it was 38 degrees F. when Sam and I went running!), and balmy, nippy nights!!! During the summer months I dreamed of these days. I couldn't wait for these cool mornings. Drooled (more like sweat and stunk!) for the day when I didn't constantly feel at the boiling point, in dire need of water, and just down right miserable! My memory has been understandably jogged as to the reason I live here. (I repeatedly asked myself many times a day during our hot summer!)

Nov. 13th - #11 day of gratitude

#11 day of gratitude --

I am grateful for repentance.

I am the world's worst procrastinator. I admit it. And thus, I am catching up my days of gratitude, 9 days behind!!! But, you know, that's what "sorry", and" will you forgive me", and "better late than never" is for!!! I happen to claim that last one as my very own personal motto!!! But luckily, the Savior forgives and we can change, and do better. And so, some day, I will not be a procrastinator and have to apologize all the time and actually do things when I plan and say I will. But, until then, I can always do it tomorrow!!

Nov 12th - #10 day of gratitude

#10 - I am grateful for my daughter. I know that is a given. So let me explain.

Of course, I am grateful for my daughter, Ashley. My only baby girl, born to me. She is wonderful and awesome and beautiful and one of my best friends! And I love her very much.

But to add to this, let me just say--I am so grateful she is my hairdresser too!! I have the best! Not only that, though, is I get the special "mother of the hairdresser" discount on my cuts, colors, and on hair products at the stores only licensed hair people can get!!! Is that a blessed and wonderful perk or what? Believe me, BAWH (before Ashley was a hairdresser), my hair and style, and upkeep was pretty sad. Well, let's just say, that saying "You're not getting older, you're getting better", applies to me. Or at least to my hair!!!

So thank you Ashley!!! Love you, punkin!!!

Nov. 11th - 9th day of gratiutude

Ok, I have so blown it so I will just continue on like nothing happened. Which is exactly what happened for what, 9 days????

#9 - thrift stores (and in that same category and at a lesser degree, garage sales!)

I love thrift stores. Good Will, Savers, D.I. - you name it I will hit. But these three seem to be the ones I cruise! I can tell you what days are the deal days. For Good Will, Tuesdays are Senior citizen day - 25% off for S.C.'s. Used to be 50%, so was so worth dragging your grandma down with you to buy your treasures for you. (Of course, if you inherited your love of thrift stores from that senior citizen, as I did from my mother, all you have to do is say something to the effect, Yo, mom, Good will, you, me now!!" And she beats me out the door, handicap hanger in hand!! Oh, yea, up close and personal!!).

Thursdays!! OH my THURSDAYS!!! Good Will's deal!! The color tag of the week - $1.00!!!! Oh, and the week of the week!!! (items are marked by the week somehow!). Then there is the every other Saturday, everything in the store is 50% off! Oh, and every day a particular color tag is 50% that day! It's the store that just keeps on giving!!!

Of course, DI's everyday prices are better than Goodwill's, especially books (which as you know I love!). But for the most up to date styles, Savers really is the best bet!!!

So there. I have outed myself!!! I, R.D., am a thrift store addict!! I love the thrill of the hunt!! The treasure hunt!!! It's pretty amazing and fun to see all the "stuff" you can get there. Yes, 90% may be junk! But that 10% is the draw!! Oh me oh my! And the draw it is!!!

There. I feel all tingly inside for admitting it!! It feels so good not to have to hide it anymore!!

Nov. 10th - # 8th day of gratitude

# 8 -

Friends. Nuf said!! Love you all to death!

Nov. 9th - # 7 day of gratitude

# 7 - Computers. Well, actually, the internet and all that that entails = email, blogs, facebook, youtube, craigslist, and all things good, and communicative, and time consuming and interactive and virtually real????!!!! (But really, it all, including the computer, is such an amazing invention!!) I am old enough to have lived without them, and I'm telling you, it's all so very good!!! Technology!!! Gotta love it!!

Nov. 8th - # 6 day of Gratitude

#6 Missionaries.
I am a missionary mom. So, of course I love missionaries. It's funny how much I not only love my misisonary son, but all the nephews and friends of my sons, as well as sons of friends serving too!! When each one leaves I feel a tiny bit of my heart goes with them! There really is nothing quite like having a child out. The thrill, excitement, ache, longing and pride that goes with the territory is all there. It's a great "club" to be a member of. One that you are happy to join, and even happier to be kicked out of!!!
Tanner, I love you. Can't wait till you get home in about 5 months. Taylor will be leaving soon (in the next few months) and the mixed emotions will start all over again!!

Nov. 7th - # 5 day of gratitude

Books.
I am grateful for books. More than you will know. Well, some of you know. They have been my hobby, entertainment, counsel, emotional outlet, escape, best friend, and just always there for me. When I don't have time to read I feel as though I have been neglecting a friend. And that I am sorely deprived!!!
I have two signs in my house - on my bookshelves, by the way- one says, "A home without books is like a body without a soul". I truly feel this way.
The other one says, "Books fall open, and you fall in". I was given this one, by someone who knows me all too well!! Don't even come looking or try to find me once I've fallen in!! I'll come out when I'm done and dang well ready!!

Nov. 6th - # 4

Fathers.
In honor of my father's 85th birthday, today, I have to say how grateful I am for him. In his quiet way he taught me by example the importance of gospel, family, responsibility and love.
Also, I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father. Especially for the knowledge that I have that he lives and that He knows me personally, is aware of me and cares and loves me very much.
So grateful for the father of my children, too.
Where would we be without fathers???