I'M THANKFUL

I love Thanksgiving... especially when I wear a loose dress or elastic pants. I love to eat until my heart's content. I can't wait for this year. Nena is hosting and I am really looking forward to it. I'll post some pics of DEE LISH US food.

SO TRUE...

Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.

Will DurantUS historian (1885 - 1981)

THE WONDERFUL MARVELOUS JACK

HAPPY 14, JACK!!!

How did I ever get so lucky to have a son like you? You have so many qualities and traits that I truly admire. Here are just a few:

* Loving
* Helpful
*Obedient

*Funny, funny.... your sense of humor is fantastic!

*Hardworking

*Strong

*Creative

*Original

*A friend to all

*A little mischievous, but in a good way

*Capable

*Calm

*Great looking

*Football player

*Artist

*Adventurous
*Fashionable

*Outdoorsman

When I'm upset you know how to make me feel better. I am so lucky that you are my son. I couldn't ask for any better. I can't wait to see all the things you'll do with your life. I know that you are the type of person who will touch the lives of all you come in contact with. You are sensitive to other's needs and that will get you far. You are soooooo cool. I love you, Mom

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Lawrence Clark Powell - "Write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow."

I saw this quote and loved it, then I remembered this pic of Grayson after reading the last HP.

READING ROCKS!

MY FRIEND EMILY

Emily is the kind of friend we all should have.

Here are some wonderful things I love about Emily:

• Smart
• Fashionable
• Splendid mother
• Witty
• Kind
• Service giver
• Best shower invitation maker
• Best co-shower giver
• Book club commentary
• Thriftiness
• Uplifter
• Cub scout leader
• Fine food finder
• Amazing Boggle player
• Best person to visit in Utah!

I'll miss you Emily, but I can't wait to visit you and Steve in Utah! Thank goodness for your blog...

OH MY GOODNESS, MYLES IS 18!

Myles you are AMAZING! What a fantastic 18 years it has been. Here are some of the qualities I love about you:

You don't judge people.
You have a superior sense of humor.
You are a great example for your brothers and for me.
You're smart.
Sooo creative.
You can paint.
You can sing.
You can act.
You scored the most points for one word on Boggle.
You're brave.
You're a great looking kid.
You love good food.
You're a great fisherman.
You're a peacemaker.

The list goes on....

Thanks for making the last 18 years of my life so wonderful. I am so blessed and fortunate to have you for a son. I love you. Can't wait for Touche' live! Mom.

OH TO THINK LIKE A NINE-YEAR-OLD

Grayson came over to me the other night and shared this tidbit of nine-year-old knowledge with me...

Grayson: I don't think super heroes have very good people skills.

Me: Oh ya, you're right.

I mean who am I to disagree with the nine-year-old who clearly knows more about super heroes than I do.

If you have stories to share, please do tell

CHRISTOPHE

Our super-cool, creative, fun, fantastic, handsome, and fabulous friend Christophe came to visit from NY. (Oh ya, he's also a pastry chef now.) He made a delicious apple tart and chocolate cookies to die for. He is soooo much fun. He and Myles will start ASU in August. I can't believe this chapter is about to begin. Any advise from you wonderful readers?

We had such a great time with Christophe. We drank Orangina, went to In and Out and he couldn't visit AZ without going to Arby's.

Thanks for staying with us Christophe. We love you!!!

Grayson and Eric at the MS Walk on the Wild Side. We had a blast and the weather was perfect!

SPRING BREAK IN SAN CARLOS

Here are a few pics from our Spring Break vacation. San Carlos is a quiet, sleepy little town. The beaches were beautiful. The home we stayed in had its own little beach on the bay side. The food in San Carlos was okay, but the taco stand we hit coming into and going out of Mexico was FANTASTICO! Have you ever tried those marinated carrots? WOW are they delicious.

The boys all had a great time. Grayson was the #1 fisherman of the trip. He caught 5 fish, including a parrot fish. Jack loved the ATV riding and the Mexican cokes. The highlight for Forrest was finding an internet connection and playing WOW for three hours. We all had a great time listening to Myles play the mariachi's guitar and sing for everyone at the restaurant.

Thanks for taking us to Mexico, David. We love you!

The picture above, three lovely ladies and lots of food.

Here is a sample plate from the latest shower given by Emily and myself. Emily made her amazing slaw, which I love, love, love!

I really wish I knew how to put pictures on here the right way. Someday I'll figure it out.

Anyway, I got the idea to make the cute tissue paper poms from a postI found on

design mom.com. I love her blog so many cute ideas. The poms were cute and very easy to make. One fun thing about them was they changed the lighting in my kitchen. I liked that. If you have any good shower ideas, please do tell...

IDOL

Regarding my last post... Jordin Sparks hadn't performed yet. I just watched her and she was great. I can't believe she's only 17. Go Jordin!

DON'T GIVE UP ON ME

I haven't posted anything lately, but I hope you don't give up on me. I promise a great post with pics from the shower Emily and I are giving this weekend.

Is anyone watching Idol? Who do you like?

I like the beat boxer guy, I like LaKisha, and I like Melinda Doolittle.

My Hands Are Bananas

David, this is for you.

MS AWARENESS WEEK

Today starts the beginning of MS Awareness Week. I'm usually of the philosophy of K.I.S.S., keep it simple stupid. There are a few things that will be going on this week, but in order for me to keep to my philosophy I will be dining at Baja Fresh on Wednesday. Fifteen percent of the proceeds between 11am and 5pm will go directly to the NMSS if you present Baja Fresh with the flyer you can download at this site: http://aza.nationalmssociety.org. If either of my readers want to meet me there for lunch let me know.

TALENT

It always amazes me when when someone has a God-given talent. For instance Christina Aguilera..... her voice is like a musical instrument. We saw her in concert last night and she was AMAZING! I really enjoyed the concert and I liked the fact that there was no cussing. I know she must train her voice, but she was born with that talent.

I saw a news clip today about a 7 year old girl that can snowboard like no other. Again, a God-given talent.

My husband has a God-given talent of humor. He never fails to make me laugh. He was telling me about a situation at work where he was on the phone with a banker and she put him on hold. It wasn't one minute, two minutes, or three minutes. It was ten minutes. When she returned to the call with David he said, "Can you hold a minute I have to blow out the candles on my cake." She said, "Excuse me." David said, "Oh, I've been on hold so long I need to blow out the candles on my birthday cake." She didn't get the joke, but when David was telling me about it I couldn't stop laughing.

What is your God-given talent?

Today is my incredibly beautiful, inside and out, niece's 16th birthday. Happy Birthday Valentina!!!! I am so proud of you and I can't wait to see the wonderful things you'll do with your life. I love you, Aunt Jami

**This pic was taken in New York 2005**

YUMMINESS

Emily, you're the inspiration for todays post.

Cita's Sugar Cookies

These are the most amazing sugar cookies I've ever had! I've served them for countless baby showers. If the baby is going to be a boy I make blue frosting and if it's a girl I make pink frosting.

1 stick butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
3 1/4 cups flour

Preheat oven to 400. Cream together first four ingredients. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well blended. *Dough might seem sticky, but it should be. Roll out cookie dough (approx. 1/4 inch thick) on a floured surface and cut into desired shape. Bake for 5 minutes. Don't overcook. Cool then frost. Makes approx. 3 dozen.

Frosting

1/2 stick of butter
1 1/2 tsp of powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
food coloring

Mix together well.

I've always had good luck making these cookies. They are sooo delicious.

ANOTHER DAY

Well... in keeping with the title of my blog I'll blog today. I had an excellent work out this morning. Muscle and cardio. I had an excellent dinner last night at my wonderful sister-in-laws house and all my boys seem to be getting along great. Ain't life grand!

PETER GREY

Tonight is Oscar night... My brother-in-law, Peter Grey died in 2002. The Oscar's were on my father-in-law's television that night. I miss Pete so much. He was so much fun to be around. What a quick life he had here on Earth. Only 20 short years. I would love him to be around the boys now. I'm so sad to not have him here, but I am very thankful for the time we had together, all the laughs and memories mean so much to me. I love you Pete.