Leelu's Letters

Ending 2010--Looking ahead to 2011

2010-12-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy and stressful year. As it comes to a close, I must say I'm glad to see 2010 end. I have high hopes for 2011.

We've enjoyed a busy weekend celebrating the Saviour's birth, spending time with family on both sides. It was great to visit with my parents and family on Christmas Day. On Sunday, we were able to spend time with Carl's niece and nephews in Provo and we always enjoy our time with them.

This week I also played host to our traditional "Friend's" Christmas party. The girls I grew up with started a tradition of a Christmas party when we were 11 years old. In those teen-age years, we typically went caroling (and spent several weeks beforehand practicing and typing up the words). As time went by it became a Christmas lunch or dinner. As our circle grew with marriages and babies, it became a family tradition. We celebrated the 36th anniversary of that first party this week with a pot luck dinner and hours of great visiting. To my kids, this group is a second family. It's amazing to keep friendships alive over decades. We rarely see each other on a consistent basis anymore but we can spend an evening catching up and reminiscing old times together as if hardly any time has passed. They are wonderful friends! We miss those who can't make it from time to time but it's a great tradition.

So, looking forward to 2011. My daughter graduates from high school! WOW! It doesn't seem possible and I can't quite figure out where the time has gone. She's been accepted to two colleges--Miami University in Ohio and Utah State University. We're waiting to hear from the U and BYU before making her final choice. I'm excited for her but this year will bring a huge change as she will move out of her childhood home and take the first steps into her adult life. I hope the year goes slowly until August!

My son will leave on his international trip in just 9 days. He will spend 28 days learning about and serving the people of Nepal as well as enjoying some adventures trekking in the Himalayan foothills and areas in India. Lucky boy! (However, I want those 28 days to pass relatively quickly so I guess the slow part of the year has to go from February to August). He's also applied to work at Camp Steiner in the Uintah's again this summer. I'll have one coming home from a summer away as the other packs to leave for school.

Carl & I will get to practice being empty nesters again this year as Spencer travels during the fall with his school and Caitlin is away. I don't mind the temporary weeks of relaxed responsibility but I'm awfully glad when they come home again.

I hope everybody enjoys winding down the year and looking forward to the next one.

Passwords

2010-12-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

So, do you hate passwords? I know we need them but I'm always forgetting them. How many of you tend to use the same two or three passwords over and over again even though all the experts tell you that's not good security? I know I do!

We tried updating our cell phone account and changing some settings. We didn't know the password. We didn't know the password last time we tried to change it. So, we keep resetting it and then we keep forgetting it.

As if remembering passwords wasn't difficult enough, what about all those stupid security questions? My least favorite: What is your favorite book? Really? Changes monthly, weekly and sometimes daily! If I have to answer that one (some sites don't let you choose your security questions), I put Book of Mormon. I know it's a title I'll never forget and it's always on my must read list. If I choose, I like the ones such as What city were you born in? Not a problem, it will never change since we're only born once. What is your Dad's middle name works well too. Another answer that doesn't change. What was your favorite pet's name is one of those iffy questions. Anything with favorite can be a problem.

How many of you have these silly security questions showing up on work related sites that other people need access to? We have several advertising sites we use and more than one person has access and needs access. Where were you born now takes on a totally different and challenging meaning. Trying to keep track of where your co-workers were born is a great lesson in geography!

The reason I started thinking about it was I realized I wasn't sure what my password was to get into the blog to make a post. However, I had my browser "remember" my password and I got in just fine. Of course, I still dont' know what my password is which means I can only ever enter my blog from my computer but I can live with that (at least until my computer crashes at some future, unknown date--shhhhhh, that could be very soon considering how "mature" this computer is)!@!@!@!@!@!

Spring in the Rockies

2010-05-11T19:09:00.005-06:00

What month is it? May with spring breezes and flowers. Have you looked outside lately? How about snow, rain, and cold? Welcome to Spring in the Rockies!

Interstate 80 was closed twice today due to weather related accidents at Parley's Summit. In the first one there was no injuries other than to the vehicles and I haven't heard about the second one that happened later in the day. It looks and feels like winter is still here.

Usually in May, we're flirting with when to turn on the air conditioning. This year, the heat is still on and it's not a luxury--it's cold! I'd put all my winter clothes downstairs when we had some nice weather a couple of weeks ago and I had to bring all the long sleeves back up again. I had the space heater on in my office--which I rarely do in the winter--because I was chilled yesterday morning.

I just hope we still get a spring season and it doesn't turn into summer overnight.

Synchronized Skating World Championships--here we come!

2010-04-07T21:29:00.001-06:00

I cannot believe how fast time moves these days. It's April, although along the Wasatch Front it feels like late February or early March. The next three days are supposed to be really nice--however, I will be enjoying the climate in Colorado Springs!!!

Why? Caitlin and I are headed to the World Synchronized Skating Championships!!! We are soooooooooo excited!!!!!!! Caitlin skated as a sectional competitor for 7 years and also attended Nationals one year as a competitor. This is going to be so incredible!!!

What is Synchronized Skating? Basically, it's a fast-paced drill team on ice and it's fantastic to watch. Try this link to YouTube to see a sample of what synchronized skating is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOvlfYAIfUY&feature=related

Enjoy!!!

Olympics junkie

2010-02-26T22:58:00.001-07:00

I am an official Olympics junkie. I think I've only missed three nights of watching at least something about the Olympics for the last two weeks. I especially enjoy the winter games.

Of course, we didn't miss a minute of the skating. Last night Caitlin and I spent the evening with a bunch of skaters from her club and some moms watching the Ladies Free Skate. What an absolutely amazing competition that was. My absolute favorite was Joannie Rochette. It was astonishing watching her skate as well as she did after losing her mom on Sunday. WOW! I was so thrilled that Mirai Nagasu took 4th place. While it's too bad the Americans ended their streak of at least one medal since 1964, Mirai skated an incredible long program and moved herself from 6th to 4th. That was an incredible place for her to finish and quite frankly higher than she was expected to do. Watch out in four years!

It makes me sad to realize that the games are done on Sunday and NBC goes back to regular programming. Which means I'll get a lot more done since I won't be watching so much Olympic coverage. But I will definitely miss it. However, one more night of wonderful skating with the show tomorrow night. Gotta love it. Can you tell figure skating is my favorite? Wonder why!!

I'd really love Salt Lake to get the games again someday. I enjoyed the 2002 games and met some really incredible people. Caitlin had an amazing experience as a Child of Light which I don't think she totally understands how great even now. It was an incredible time.

Lazy Winter Day

2010-02-13T23:16:00.001-07:00

That darn cold has gone to my chest and given me a horrible cough. So, I spent the day lazing in bed trying to keep myself from coughing so bad to break something! At least I could watch the Olympics. Except for the two different times I fell asleep for about 90 minutes. That's a good thing I guess-sleep heals.

I really hope I get rid of this cough soon. When I get a cough, I tend to keep it for 4 to 6 weeks. I'm just not in the mood right now. Oh well.

I'm skipping church tomorrow. No need to spread my cough and cold to a few hundred other people. Hopefully, another lazy day will get me in shape to go to work on Monday. Mondays are always busy and its the 15th which means I have payables to do. Probably the most frustrating part of my job.

Opening Ceremonies!

2010-02-13T00:42:00.001-07:00

I'm a winter sports fanatic. I love the winter games. It's not surprising since my daughter does figure skating. It's hard to believe that 8 years ago on the second Friday in February, I was actually driving out to Rocky Mountain Raceway to pick up my 8 year old "Child of Light" after Salt Lake's Opening Ceremonies. What a crazy time that was.

And how time flies. Eight years ago, I was hoping to go to Vancouver (should they win the bid) and attend the games as a spectator. Oh well! I'll be glued to my TV for the next 16 days (except for the hours I have to be at work. Darn!)

My favorite sport is obviously figure skating. I've really enjoyed following the Grand Prix events on Universal Sports so I know what programs are planned. It's going to be fun to see who has a good skate and who falls apart.

I also really enjoy watching the alpine events as well as the nordic events. We went to Ski Jumping during the 02 games and it was a lot of fun. The only events I'm not super interested in is hockey--men's or women's--until the medal rounds--and then only if the US is IN the medal rounds. Curling is still way down on the list but if I understood the rules, maybe it would be more interesting.

Tonight's ceremonies were really good and classy. I loved all the special effects with the lighting, etc. It's too bad they had a little bit of an issue with the cauldron and I kind of thought the outdoor cauldron lighting was almost anti-climactic, but overall it was an enjoyable way to spend an evening.

So, what is your favorite winter sport? Do you plan to watch the Olympics at all?

Quilt Night!

2010-02-11T22:28:00.001-07:00

It's the second Thursday of the month. Quilting night for me!! I'm working my way through 14 baby quilts--one for each grand niece or nephew (including two on the way). I'm way behind. I have completed 4 and I'm working on two others. Unfortunately, my nieces and nephews keep having children and getting me further and further behind. I declare a moratorium on the next generation until I'm caught up. Of course, that probably means no more children ever but oh well!

I'm not sure why or how I got so interested in quilting but I really enjoy it. I'm too busy to get it out at home (which is why it is taking me so long to catch up). So the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month, I wheel my sewing machine with quilting bag strapped on top out the door and over to the church. There's a small group of women who come twice a month to work on various quilting projects and we have a great old-fashioned quilting group.

A few years ago, I started a couple of quilts through a quilting class at a great quilt shop: Elaine's Quilt Block. That got me confident enough to start a baby quilt when my niece Safire was expecting her first baby. She's named after me (my sister and I gave our daughter's each other's name as the girl's middle names), so I thought it would be so nice to do a quilt for her. I was somewhat overconfident. I kept running into difficulties because I couldn't figure out how to do things so the quilt would sit for several months before I'd try to get a little more done. My sister teased me I would finally get it done in time for the baby's high school graduation and quite frankly, she was probably spot on with her prediction.

Then my church started a quilting group for people interested in learning how to quilt. Great idea!! The problem is they kept working on these really cute quilts that taught various skills so I kept wanting to work on those, too. I finally put those aside and concentrated on only the baby quilt. Of course, by this time, my niece was expecting twins and her brother was expecting his first baby and I felt like I should do quilts for everybody. WHY?

So last summer, I finished the three quilts for Safire and a cute duck quilt for my youngest grand-nephew. Four done!! Yippee--only eight more to go. My quilting group at church started on the cutest paper piecing quilt that I thought would be perfect for another grand-niece--big sister to the youngest. So now I'm working on that. It's been a challenging quilt but it's getting close. In the meantime, though, two more nephews announce babies are on the way. WHAT? You can't do that. I'm not caught up. By the time I get all of them done, it may be wedding quilts for my oldest grand niece and nephew.

But I'm having a good time and that's all that matters. Safire's kids enjoy their quilts and I'm so glad. Hopefully, I can start working a little faster and get more done and get caught up. I'd really like to get the two newest arrival's quilts done before they make their appearance in late June and early August. Wish me luck!

I really hate viruses!

2010-02-10T22:04:00.003-07:00

I don't mean the computer kind. I mean the microbial kind. I have a cold. An old-fashioned cold. My head hurts, my throat is sore, my nose is stuffed up or running depending on the moment. My voice is scratchy and I just feel lousy.

You know what they say, take a cold medicine and you'll feel better in 7-10 days OR don't do anything and you'll feel better in a week or so. Guest that means for the next week or 7-10 days, I get to deal with an annoying microbe from the rhino-virus family.

Luckily, I must have had a premonition. I stocked up on pocket size Kleenex packages. I should have grabbed some hand sanitizer at the same time. I'm not a hand-sanitizer fan but this is definitely an appropriate time to use it.

Oh well. I'll try to stay hydrated and keep the Kleenex close. The main thing I'm not looking forward to is trying to get any kind of decent sleep. I doubt a good night's sleep is in the cards any time soon.

Anybody have any good homeopathic remedies?

We are staying!

2010-02-09T22:06:00.004-07:00

During this unemployment journey, we looked at moving away from Salt Lake. There are a lot of great things about moving--new places to see, new friends to make, and more. But leaving also means packing up my house. Nope! Don't like that thought at all. Way too much work!!! Of course, throwing out all the junk is a great plus--but I can actually do that if I stay here. It's just not as much fun that way.

During the first week of January, we received an offer from a firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Carl has actually traveled there several times over the years and has friends there so it wouldn't have been a bad place to go. Caitlin was excited about the increased skating opportunities. But.....it wasn't the right time. So we turned that job down. It was a "sick to your stomach" moment since we'd been unemployed for 6 months at that point. But it was the right decision.

Anyway, we are staying in Salt Lake. We don't have to move at all which is nice. I enjoy living next door to my parents--one of the best things about where I live. The kids can stay in the schools they enjoy--especially since they are both in high school now. Tough to move in high school so I'm awfully glad they don't have to do that. I get to stay in my job which is also a plus. I work with some great people so I'm glad I get to stay too.

I'll have more on the details as they get finalized. But YES! We're staying!!!!

And after 7 months.....

2010-02-08T20:07:00.003-07:00

We finally are employed again (almost)! Wow!! What a ride the last few months have been. Luckily, life is settling down to a new normal that looks pretty promising.

Here is a quick snapshot of the changes we've gone through:

July 15, 2009--Carl is laid off! Boy, isn't unemployment fun! Actually, I really enjoyed him being home more. That was a totally unexpected benefit.
July 16, 2009--Lisa goes to work full time! Good thing Carl is home more!!
August 24, 2009--Kids go back to school!! Unfortunately, not a good experience for everybody.
October 5, 2009--Carl starts as a contract engineer with BD Medical! Whew!!
October 7, 2009--Carl's severance package runs out! Called that a bit close didn't we?
October 17 & 18, 2009--Caitlin competes at Regionals as an Intermediate skater. She was happy with her skate which was her goal.
October 23, 2009--Spencer leaves the public school system which has been a awful experience for two years and finds a new home at Realms of Inquiry!! After a bit of a rocky start, he's settling in nicely.
November & December--The holidays! 'Nuf said!!!
January 1, 2010--I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad to be out of 2009!!!! Terrible year!!!
January 7, 2010--Spencer leaves for Israel for 28 days with his school. Mom was a bit of a basket case worrying about how he was going to cope until he actually walked through the security line and then Mom figured there wasn't anything else she could do.
January 15, 2010--Spencer sends best friend an email. Does NOT send anything to his mother!!! Good thing he's 9 time zones away!!!!
January 17, 2010--Spencer redeems himself and sends an email. Yeah!! He's having a terrific time.
February 4, 2010--Spencer arrives home safely after 19 hours in the air and two layovers.
February 4, 2010--Carl receives a job offer.
February 5, 2010--Carl receives a second job offer. Wouldn't you think that was great? It was--except this was a really hard decision. We wavered nearly hourly all weekend long.
February 8, 2010--Decision made--just need to finalize the paperwork!!!

Wow!! What a year. Those are the highlights! Now, if we could only get some snow.......

Mid-Summer Musings

2009-07-14T14:55:00.005-06:00

I started writing this post earlier in the week but had a bit of a life detour and didn't get it posted. Enjoy it now and I'll update what happened mid-week soon.

Summer is half over. I'm not sure where the time has gone. It's been fun. My wonderful niece visited from the east coast with her three children for several weeks and it was fun to get to see them. My kids have been to Youth Conference; my daughter to Girl's Camp; my son to Scout Camp. This week, my son started the first of two weeks volunteering at Camp Steiner as an Assistant Merit Badge Counselor. Next week, my daughter will attend EFY.

That means no kids for over 5 days! WOW!! It's amazing and enjoyable even though I'll miss them. Unfortunately, instead of having lots of fun plans, I'm planning to declutter and dejunk since I won't have to worry about shuttling them around.

We still have plans for a short summer vacation together. We're like most people this summer and not planning things too far in advance. I think we'll let this be the "What sounds fun today?" type of vacation.

We're thinking of heading up to Jackson for a couple of days to float the Snake River. Anybody done it? We hooked up with an old friend from Layton who puts trips together every summer. Then we might spend a night over in Yellowstone or Grand Tetons or both. That will depend on if there are any campsites available.

I'm still working on my quilts. Four are done and delivered.

Wow! What a Week!

2009-06-28T20:07:00.002-06:00

It's been quite the week. Last Sunday was Father's Day and nearly my entire family visited my parent's house--there are 39 of us and during the day, 37 made it to the house. It's a lot of fun and a lot of babies!! We've had 5 little boys born in the last 15 months.

So, we've had dinner and we're all visiting and talking. The teenage cousins are goofing off together. The next thing I know, I'm being told my son has hurt himself somehow. He's in the bathroom screaming because his eye hurts and he is flushing it with water. I can't get him to calm down. He's 6 feet tall and a very strong kid. I'm trying to get him to go to the hospital with me but he keeps yelling at me. He's hurt and he's scared so we call the paramedics. He calmed down for them. There were 4 or 5 of them surrounding him.

As it turns out, the bicycle tire blew up in his face and hit his eye. They checked him out and didn't see any obvious foreign objects or penetration of the eyeball but recommended that we have him checked out at the emergency room. So, his dad took him down. We have to go to the IHC Hospital in Murray because of insurance even though St. Mark's is less than a mile away. They got him in a room almost immediately and then the waiting began. However, they checked him out really thoroughly and his cornea was severely scratched. The doctor said "stippled".

However, while they were at the hospital, I got to help get the trailers packed for the 200 mile bike ride starting the next day. hmmmm....... I'm not sure we made a good decision on who should go to the hospital. Anyway, we got the trailers packed up just before 10pm and they got home right about 10:30.

Up at 5:00 to get ready for a 6:30am departure. It was quite the sight to see nearly 35 men and boys all dressed in green t-shirts, wearing helmets and sitting astride bikes ready to go. Unfortunately, my boy got to watch and wave them off. He was sidelined until the eye doctor could do a follow up. Sunday night he was telling me there was no way he was going and Monday morning, I caught him trying to load his pack into the trailer with his helmet over his arm. So sorry!! Take everything back inside.

However, we were able to get an early morning appointment and he was cleared to ride--with wrap around sunglasses and eye drops. We ran around getting last minute things for him and caught up with the peloton in Ogden just in time for lunch. They rode 200+ miles over 3 days from Salt Lake City to Bear Lake. WOW!!!

That meant a girl's week at home. We went to see The Proposal with Sandra Bullock. It's pretty cute. Nothing great but an enjoyable evening out with my daughter. Then we came home and rented Twilight. I'd never seen it. It was a fun evening.

I got to spend some time getting caught up on my quilting. Two quilts totally finished this week with two more to finish before Sunday!! Getting close!!!!

Finished off the week with the whole family at Transformers! The action is intense and the story is good but it was pretty crude in places and I thought that was disappointing. We hit Robintino's for a late dinner and home. It was so much fun to spend the evening with my teens. They are so rarely around that family time tends to be Sundays only.

So, here's what I've done this week!!

I thought I was going to die!

2009-06-12T08:36:00.003-06:00

I got up early this morning--before 6am--so I could go riding with a group of gals from my neighborhood. I'm just getting into the biking scene. I got a new mountain bike for Mother's Day last month and I'm slowly getting in some short rides. The gals I went with have been riding for a while and they were all on road bikes and clipped in. They are also all 10-15 years younger than me and in much better shape. I thought I was going to die!

It actually wasn't a bad ride--about 10.25 miles out to the Cotton Bottom and back. Just some small hills, some really nice downhill sections. Really, a pretty good ride. The gals I was with were really nice--they'd get out ahead of me and then wait for me to catch up and off we'd go again. The only down side to that scenario is that they kept getting these great little breaks and I had to keep riding, riding, riding to keep up. I thought I was going to die!

I realized at about 4.5 miles out that I had taken off without any water. I really needed water at that point. I'm panting and my mouth is dry and I really, really want some water. I've fallen far enough back that I can't quite see the gals I'm riding with. If I'd had my phone on me, I would have called for a pick-up from my hubby. I really thought I was going to die!

I finally catch up to the other gals and we have a little break. They were nice enough to share some water so I could get my mouth wet. Then we head back. This part is the really nice downhill section. I'm in the front and I'm pushing hard because there's a steep little hill coming up. I hit the hill and the other gals cruise right on past and I'm frantically downshifting. I thought I was going to die!

Then we're in the mostly uphill section. We're probably pedaling through mile 7 at this point. I can no longer feel my rear end. It's numb. My arms are starting to hurt because I'm leaning on the handlebars so hard. Again, I can't see the gals in front of me. This is when I had the bright realization that I'm riding with gals who are way younger than me--the youngest is around 16 years younger than me! What the heck was I thinking?? I'm pedaling ever so slowly and really wishing I had that phone so I could get picked up. I thought I was going to die!

So, we're playing the catch up game. They ride for a while and wait for me to catch up. We pedal ever closer to home. Finally, we reach Lincoln Lane. I know this section and I"ve ridden it several times because this is the way I come home from work. I took off and pedaled like crazy and was out in front all the way down Lincoln and over to Suada Drive. I really love riding down Suada drive. It's a great downhill and all the way home. I'm feeling really great! This is fun!

We pull in and Melissa says it's 10.25 miles. I'm quite proud of myself. I made it through and I didn't die! I pull into my driveway and get off the bike. My legs feel like lead! By the time I reach the door, I can barely move! I hobble down the hallway and into the kitchen for food and drink. I can hardly feel the lower half of my body--it's gone numb! My hands hurt, my arms hurt, my shoulders hurt. My legs don't hurt because I can't feel them. I thought I was going to die!

I can hardly wait to do it all again on Tuesday!!

Every ride is a water ride!

2009-06-09T23:10:00.003-06:00

I am not a fan of water rides at amusement parks. I had a bad experience with a water ride about 14 years ago and I've never enjoyed them since. Generally, I like amusement parks--just not the water rides. So you can imagine how my day went today at Lagoon.

It's the annual Lagoon day today! In the middle of what must be classified as a monsoon in the desert! So of course we went. I took my son and his friend and we got there about 4pm. It was actually pretty nice--not too hot, fairly sunny, not at all crowded.

My daughter and husband got there about 6pm. Just before they got there, the clouds moved in and it rained a bit and turned cold. I stayed dry under some of the large trees because the rain was pretty light and it only lasted 10 minutes or so.

We did some rides, got some dinner, the boys had their picture taken at the Photography shop in Pioneer Village. My husband and daughter got on Samurai and it started to rain. Just lightly. My daughter was cold and hungry so she went off to Arby's and we hit the inside rides--Haunted House and Terror Ride.

Now the rain is coming down a little harder and it is starting to get really chilly. So the husband and daughter head home. The two 14-year old boys are just getting started. By the time I found them just after 9:30 they were soaked to the skin. But they wanted one more ride. So off they went to Wild Mouse and Wicked.

Unfortunately, they found the deepest, hugest puddle I have ever seen. It was nearly up to my son's knees and he's 6 feet tall! I know this because he waded through it--about 6 times!!!!! If there was any part of their bodies that was dry before the puddle, it was wet after!

Now it's time to head home with two very wet teen-agers--and no towels! My daughter will freak tomorrow because I'm pretty sure the car is going to smell like wet teen age boy! I had the heat on full blast because we were all cold and shivering. It's June and I have the heat on in my car!

So, I really don't like water rides and after today's experience with every ride being a water ride, I think my Lagoon season is done for 2009!

Wet Sunday!

2009-06-07T20:20:00.002-06:00

What a wet, wet day! I can hardly believe it's June. I woke up late and I thought it was earlier than it was because it was overcast. It's really rained and been cloudy and almost cold for Utah in June. My mom called it an English summer-rain and gray clouds.

I am enjoying the cooler weather. I love the fact that I don't need to have the heat on or the air on. It's perfect. It's cool to sleep and brisk in the mornings. I really wouldn't mind this for about 10 weeks out of the summer with two weeks of bright sunshine and mid-80's mixed in. Unfortunately, it's going to get really hot and hit 100 sooner than I hope.

My kids would like it to warm up before the week is over but that's not in the forecast. They are headed into the mountains with the youth group from church and my daughter is complaining that they will be cold. I think they really will be cold, too. Jacket time all day long most likely because it's not forecast to get above 70 degrees for a high! WOW!! So cool for mid-June.

So, I'm enjoying my cool days and the lower utility bills are a wonderful bonus. Enjoy the weather wherever you are!

Lazy Day!

2009-06-06T23:37:00.002-06:00

Don't you just love days you can be lazy? No great expectations, no big tasks to be done, no place to be. Just a day to hang around at home and do something or nothing depending on how you feel.

Today was one of those days. I lazed around and really didn't do much. It felt great. I slept in this morning which is something I rarely do. It was 10am before I woke up and I was really surprised. I haven't slept that late in years. It's not something I want to do every Saturday, but I certainly enjoyed it today.

So, here's to the rare lazy Saturday in my life!

AAHHH!! FRIDAY!!!

2009-06-05T18:03:00.002-06:00

I love Fridays and this is one of the very best Fridays of the year--SCHOOL'S OUT!!! I'm soooooooooooo excited to be done with school and to have 3 months of play time with my kids.

Tonight my nephew is spending the night and we're headed to the movie in the park--Kung Fu Panda on an outdoor screen with lots of yummy snacks (even grapes for me!!). Our township puts on a movie in a different park every Friday night during the summer. Last summer I think they did 6 movies and we went to City Slickers. Right in the middle of the movie, the sprinklers came on!! You should have seen people scramble. Unfortunately, they raced to get the projection equipment out of the water so everyone left and we didn't get to see the end of the movie. But what a memorable night.

I'm hoping they communicated with the parks department so we have a dry showing tonight (I'm really hoping no more rain and the wind calms down as well). Should be lots of fun.

See you at the movies!

Full body work-out!

2009-06-03T08:23:00.002-06:00

Once a week, I work out with a trainer at the gym. He's great! In the last few weeks, we've been focusing on total body work-outs. I feel absolutely wonderful after I'm done--about 3 hours after! LOL Right after I'm totally wiped out. But I can tell I'm getting stronger and that's a good thing.

So I just got back from another total body workout and I'm sitting here wiped out as usual. A great time to update the blog since the only body part that has to move is my fingers. Try this sometime--take a medicine ball, hold it high above your head with elbows as straight as possible and do 8 lunges down and 8 lunges back all while keeping the ball above your head--don't lower it! Follow that with some seated rows on a yoga ball, 8-10 squats on a bosu ball (I absolutely hate getting on and off those things and I can't do it without holding on), then 15 chest fly presses and finally one minute of planks. I really hate planks! For anybody who doesn't know what they are, it's similar to a push up but you are resting on both elbows and your toes and holding your body perfectly flat as long as you possibly can. Today's plank fun included holding as long as I could, dropping and resting for 5 seconds and then doing it again for a total plank time of 60 seconds. Now, do the whole routine again. And one more time. Believe it or not, I did all three reps in just over 20 minutes.

Now why is this important? Because my husband has found a triathlon he wants to participate in. To be fair, I guess I want to participate as well. Both kids are going to do it too. The second Saturday in September so that gives me plenty of time to get in shape. I'm hoping to be doing something physical twice a day--riding my bike to work, working out at the gym, running in the mornings and swimming once or twice per week so I can get myself to 400 yards without dying otherwise the bike and run portion of that tri is going to be awfully difficult.

My personal theme for the summer is work out. My daughter is supposed to be running 500 miles this summer to prepare for X-Country season in the fall. She's a really good runner--not so great on the bike or the swim. My son is a good biker and a good swimmer--not so great on the run. My husband loves to bike, used to be a good runner (hasn't done it for nearly 30 years), but really is weak in the water. I used to be a really good swimmer, I like biking so I think that will become better this summer but running is really difficult for me. I never liked to run distance ever. I doubt I've ever run more than one mile at one time in my life (I remember doing the mile in high school gym class and it just about killed me then). So, that portion of the triathlon has me rather nervous. Okay, a lot nervous.

So, here's to a summer filled with total body workouts and a successful tri in the fall!!

The Joys of a teen-age driver!

2009-06-02T13:27:00.003-06:00

My daughter is a newly licensed driver. She's really excited about driving. I'm excited about her being able to drive herself where I used to have to drive her. That's a lot of time in a week--in a typical week, it's probably at least 2 hours of driving time for me. That's the good side.

Now for the not so good side. Yesterday I got home from work and found no car and no daughter. Hmmmm..... wonder where she is? So, I call the trusty cell phone. No answer. I text her. No response. Thirty minutes later, I call again. No reply. I'm now wavering between wanting to ground her until she's 90 and wondering if the next time the phone rings it's the police saying she's been in an accident. She finally calls me back and lo and behold she went to see "Up" by Pixar. There was a group of kids who didn't have classes so they all went to the movie. Since she had wheels, she didn't bother to call me. New rule--Just because you have the keys to the car does not mean you do not have to check in!!! Check-in is now mandatory or the keys to the car mysteriously disappear forever or until Mom's frustrated with driving you everywhere again.

So, today I'm on my way home from work. I get a call. "Do you need the truck this afternoon?" She's asking because I'm driving the Vibe today and the dealership is picking it up to do some warranty work. She is driving the truck. No, I don't need the truck this afternoon. "Why?" It seems that a group of them want to go do "something". They don't know what yet and she wants to drive. In this state, a newly licensed driver cannot drive her friends in the car unless a licensed driver over 21 is in the passenger seat. Unless she's been holding out on me, none of her friends are over 21 . I point out that it's silly for her to drive all alone and would she please catch a ride with those kids who have had their licenses long enough to actually drive a group of teen-agers. That comment was not well received. She still has the truck because she's still at school. So, I'm waiting to see . . .

I'm not so sure this independence thing is all it's cracked up to be. I really like knowing where my children are 24/7 and I can see that with keys to a car, I'm really not going to know that fact anymore. I guess the control freak part of my nature is going to have to learn to live with it.

Now for the other not so good side. Do you know how much it costs to insure a teen-age driver? !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

We actually changed insurances recently because we flat out couldn't afford the insurance we had once my daughter started driving. We're now paying about $100 more a year than we were before but that includes a 3rd vehicle and the teenager! Luckily, she's a good student and gets the good student discount as well as being a girl!!! In two years, I have a BOY who will need to drive!!! AARGH!! I'm going to need a second or third job!!!

So, for now, I'm living on the edge of enjoying being able to send someone to the store and worrying sick about where she is and if she's safe!!

Time Flies!!!!

2009-06-01T13:50:00.004-06:00

Time flies!! It's supposed to fly when you are having fun. I don't know that I've been having a lot of fun over the last 4 months, but time has sure flown by.

Can I just say one more time that I hate homework? The song School's Out for the Summer (Alice Cooper, I think) has been running through my mind all weekend with emphasis on "School's out forever!" I wish!!!

The very sad thing is that summer will really fly by almost faster than I can blink and then it will be homework season. Again!! FOR 9 WHOLE MONTHS!!!!!!! :(

Oh well. Enough misery. I'm going to enjoy my summer!!!!! Anybody have fun plans to share?

Report Day--Week 4!

2009-02-14T21:39:00.004-07:00

Wow, this week has flown by. It doesn't seem possible that it's already Saturday night. I've had to be somewhere every night this week which meant weigh in day got pushed back.

It's been a rough week--eating plan wise. When I'm on the run so much it's hard to make sure I eat when I am supposed, what I am supposed and how much I am supposed to. I was feeling like I hadn't lost anything so last night I spent 90 minutes in the gym--60 minutes on the bike and 30 minutes on the treadmill!

This morning was busy with skating as usual. Plus, my daughter had a sleep over last night and I did breakfast for all her friends after she went to skating. That meant I didn't get to Weight Watchers until the very last meeting of the week. Plus, I didn't want to eat before I went so I skipped breakfast (really dumb idea)!

However, my last chance workout paid off. I lost 1 pound this week! That also puts me 10.6 pounds down in 4 weeks. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself. Hopefully, tonight's Valentine Celebration dinner won't have long lasting affects. I hadn't really eaten all day so I enjoyed my dinner. The only thing I really indulged was I had three rolls (I normally skip the bread but we went to Texas Roadhouse--I ADORE their rolls and honey butter) and a few bites of a baby awesome blossom. Other than that, I had salad with low fat dressing on the side, applesauce and the barbecue chicken. I did have about 4 bites of steak and plenty of water!!

So, Happy Valentine's Day everybody!!

Fun With Food Storage!

2009-02-08T21:35:00.002-07:00

I have found a great site! I just found it tonight and I haven't completely looked through it but I am soooooooo excited I had to share!!

We had Stake Conference this weekend. Bishop McMullin from the Presiding Bishopric was our visiting authority. He counseled quite strongly that we should become more self-reliant. Now, I know that topic has been stressed for years but with the current economic outlook, now seems like a good time to start taking steps down that road.

I don't know about you, but I am overwhelmed and intimidated when it comes to food storage. I want to have food I like to cook, like to eat and easy to buy and store. I don't want to be ordering freeze-dried everything. I want food that my family is used to eating in my storage.

This site (from what little I've looked at so far) looks like a winner!! I am so excited to get planning and taking small steps each month to become more self-reliant. So, come along with me and check it out!! Let's all get self-reliant together!!

The Biggest Loser!

2009-02-06T19:00:00.003-07:00

I love this show! Right now, it's the only show I really try to make time to watch. (I really, really need to join the 21st century and get TIVO). I find it very interesting and inspiring. This season most of the contestants seem like pretty good people (okay, Joelle is "interesting" but she's gone now) and it's going to be fun watching how well some of these people do. The eliminated players updates have been pretty impressive for the most part. Check out the show on Tuesday nights if you haven't yet.

Since it is the beginning of a new year and a good time for resolutions, I will comment on one of my resolutions and how it is going. I've been resisting writing about it on the blog but I've decided maybe going public (to at least the three people who read) might be motivational.

So, I have decided to take the Biggest Loser Challenge! I went back to Weight Watchers three weeks ago. I'm not ready to throw out an actual number, but let's just say I was the heaviest I've ever been but this season there still would have been plenty of people in the cast bigger than me!

After one week, I lost 6.4 pounds. I thought that was pretty darn good!! Week 2--anybody who is a fan of the show will tell you week 2 is rough--I lost one pound. I weighed in last night for week 3 and. . . . . I lost 2.2 pounds. That's 9.6 pounds in three weeks. Feeling pretty good about that!! If you've watched the show this season, you'll know that's more than some of the at-home contestants did in 30 days.

However, now I need to figure out how to get more exercise in! Always a struggle since I'm pretty sure I still need to sleep. Anybody got any ideas? I'm a regular at the gym--on Tuesday mornings at 5:30 you'll see me there. Unfortunately, one time per week does not build the muscle and flexibility needed. It's winter and I hate walking outside in the winter since the only time I can do it is at night when its dark and cold. I'd play Wii fit but that would require a Wii!!! (On my wish list with TIVO and Kindle and an internet phone!!!)

I could do Dance Dance Revolution. I have a PS2 and the mat and the game. BUT, I now have a digital converter box and I can't figure out what plugs in where to play the PS2, the VCR, the DVD. I can barely turn the TV on and if my kids leave the DVD player plugged in (or something along those lines--I'm not really sure what) then I can't watch TV!!! My husband says he needs to get something to make it all plug in at the same time.

So, tune in for the weekly Loser Challenge!!! It's going to be a long haul but at the end of it, I want to be a size 12/14 and not be on any medication!!!!!

I hate spam!

2009-02-01T19:51:00.002-07:00

I hate spam!! Especially the electronic type. I've had the same email address for years and I did really well staying away from spam. But somehow in the last few months, I've gotten hit. Sometimes I get 50 emails a day all from the same 4 or 5 domains. I know I can do some blocking with my ISP but it means taking time to figure out. Time is something I just don't have much of at this point.

I get a lot of spam at work too--some of which you can't imagine!!!! I junk most of it but it comes in waves. Since so much of our sales is done through email inquiries, we don't have any kind of filters but to junk the spam as it comes in. We have a firewall but that's on the server. There are days when I'll get 80 emails and over half them go to junk automatically.

I don't understand how and why some people have time to create the spam and then lay it out there for the rest of us to deal with. GET A LIFE!! If you think about it, it's really a shame that people have so much time to create viruses, hack websites and be endlessly electronically annoying. WHY? There are so many things to do in real time and reality that to spend so much time in virtual pursuits is ridiculous!

So, at some point, I'm going to have to deal with this spam or change my email address. I really hate to think about changing my email address. It's almost as bad as having to change your phone number!!! (Which here in Utah we get to start 10-digit dialing next month! Check your pre-programmed phone numbers and make sure you have the area code or your calls won't go through).

So do I change my email? Probably. It's really annoying and one of these days (maybe when I actually get a day off) I'll talk to my ISP and figure out my best options. Until then, the delete key is my best friend. :)

What is good literature?

2009-01-28T00:04:00.004-07:00

So, how is good literature determined? It's a very subjective topic. I love "stories". I love to get engrossed in a different reality and follow compelling characters along their journey whatever it may be. I enjoy certain classics--I enjoy Dickens, I enjoy watching Shakespeare but find reading it tiring. While Hemmingway is interesting, it's easy to get bogged down. I thoroughly enjoy science fiction and especially Isaac Asimov. I think I've read nearly all his fiction works. I don't care for Steinbeck--I like books that lift my mood. I really like historical fiction. I read a series of 9 books on the American Revolutionary period by Ron Carter. Wonderful books!! I highly recommend them.

How many of us have slogged through reading lists of books we really don't care for? That's probably the biggest downside to English or Literature classes--the required reading. My daughter has an interesting (and I use that term in a rather unflattering sense) English teacher who has required them to read all sorts of very off the wall books. I haven't really been too impressed. So this week, they are starting "Lord of the Flies". I despise this book. I find absolutely nothing redeeming in it. It features only that which is base and disgusting. I really would prefer that my 15-year-old daughter not read this book. Unfortunately, I also feel like I can't talk to this teacher without her taking it out on my daughter in her grades and citizenship. It's just the impression I've gotten.

It's really too bad that teachers don't focus on fabulous and interesting stories, classic books that broaden the mind and have an interesting message to ponder and which encourage wondering about how things could be different. There are so many really good books out there and the Sophomore English class is reading "Lord of the Flies"!! YUCK!!!!!

I've read some of the Lord of the Rings--not all of it but I LOVED the movies! I've been wanting to read it through but I haven't had the time to spend and I know I'd get caught up. My daughter read part of the trilogy in 9th grade. Her English teacher wanted to spend several class periods dissecting the symbolism of the story. Interesting. There is absolutely no symbolism in that story. It is merely a fascinating and engrossing story. It's so engrossing that it has had a following for 55 years! Amazing!

Unfortunately, neither of my children love to read. My daughter has learned to enjoy reading over the past year or so. When they were little, we read books every night. As they grew older, we moved into some wonderful fascinating juvenile stories. Emily Rodda has a wonderful story for late elementary school age that has its a quest, magic, strange creatures, an obvious villain and inspiring heroes. The Tales of Deltora held my children riveted for an entire summer. Then the following year had us reading everything that Emily Rodda had written including the follow up series of books--Dragons of Deltora and The Shadowlands. However, we read all these books together. They don't like to read on their own very much. Neither of them will pick up a book and sit and read for hours. That's how I entertained myself growing up and I still read as much as I possibly can. My sister and I joke that if we were stranded on a deserted island, we would have to write a book (now don't get realistic and ask on what) just so we would have something to read!!

Anyway, what is good literature? I know what I like. Not all of it is considered "good" literature by critics (what do critics know anyway?), but I enjoy reading it.

Are you a goer or a stayer?

2009-01-14T20:31:00.002-07:00

I'm a stayer. While I enjoy traveling, I don't do alot of "things" at home. We're pretty much in a rut, day by day. We go to school and work. We do homework & chores (both of which could be done better). But we don't go "do" anything.

However, I'm trying to get out of that rut. I'm looking to my niece for inspiration. With three children three and under, she is actually considering going to the inauguration next week. I would never have thought of it when my kids were little. However, I had a child who didn't "go" well, but that's probably three weeks worth of post topics. She's not sure she'll actually go, but I'm impressed she would even think about it.

So, with that in mind, we are going to Walking With Dinosaurs this week. It looks really really neat. Both my kids are pretty excited about it. It'll make for a busy weekend but it's end of semester tomorrow and the kids have a 4-day weekend. It's a really good night to get out and go!

So do you have any get up and go plans? Or are you more of a stayer?

The beginning of the week--or is it?

2009-01-12T22:04:00.005-07:00

Oh, Monday!!

What is it about Monday? The alarm goes off and the grind begins. Time to get up and get moving. All the hustle and bustle of the beginning of the week. Or is it the beginning of the week?

Think of a calendar. How many people use a calendar that begins on Monday? I typically use a calendar where the week runs Sunday to Saturday. So is Monday the first day of the week or the 2nd day of the week? There are calendars that run Monday to Sunday, but they are not near as popular as the calendar which runs Sunday to Saturday.

My kids get a calendar for Christmas each year. I've never bought them one yet that starts the week on Monday. We have a family calendar hanging in the kitchen. It runs Sunday to Saturday. My planner calendar runs Sunday to Saturday.

So, which is it? The first day or second day of the week? We will often say Monday is the first day of the week because Sunday is still part of the weekend. Isn't it funny that our calendars don't reflect our speech?

So what do you prefer? Sunday to Saturday or Monday to Sunday? Take a look at the calendars you use and see if you even have a calendar which begins on Monday.

Something to think about at the beginning of the week? Or is it the beginning?

Why Leelu?

2009-01-11T16:40:00.005-07:00

Why Leelu? It was my nickname as a little girl.

I am the youngest of four children and the caboose. My nearest sibling is 6 years older than me with two older than him. When I was a little girl, for some reason, I was called Leelu or sometimes Lulee. I asked my mother today why that particular nickname. She didn't know why. Just because. So, now big brothers and big sister, do you remember why I was called Leelu?

My earliest memories are tied up with that nickname so it must have started when I was very small. I never really wondered about it before but now it's starting to bug me a little bit that I don't know where it came from. Why did I have a nickname?

Why do some people get nicknames and other people don't? One of my good friend's daughter is named Savannah and they often shorten the name to Sav. My grand niece is also Savannah and often gets Vannah. Shortening a name I understand. When I lived back east in Massachusetts, everybody had a diminutive of their name. Everybody was Bobby instead of Bob or Jimmy instead of Jim. It felt like a real cultural issue.

But what about those nicknames which have nothing to do with the real name? My uncle's name is George after his father but he goes by Bud. Go figure. Where did that come from? I have a cousin whose name is Vernon but we grew up calling him Butchie. To this day, I have to think to myself "Vernon" when I refer to or speak to him.

So, what's in a name? New parents will often agonize over a name. I know we did when my son was born. He went three days without a name because we couldn't decide and then we gave him three names. Other parents want a name that's very different and unique. If you spend any time in elementary school, you'll see just about any combination of sounds as a name for someone.

Names are generational. If you hear a certain name like Shelley or Anne or Julee, chances are that person was born in the late 50's or early 60's. Rachel & Sarah and Emily have made a huge comeback in my daughter's generation. But Jessica reigned supreme for years. Michael is a perennial favorite.

In fact, there is a website to see how many of you there are in the United States according to the last census. It's really very interesting. Click here to visit the site. Using my maiden name, there were only 2 of me. Pretty unique. Using my married name, there are 828. When I was in college, I accidentally picked up one of those people's pay checks because there were 3 of us working for the university at the time.

So my daughter says names are weird. I have to say I agree some of the time. Some names are pretty weird and some are traditional and some are just fun. So, why Leelu? I don't know but it's a fun name, don't you think?

Starting a blog

2009-01-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

Starting a blog--so much to consider. After all, I want a name that is catchy and thoughtful and maybe a little bit cute. BUT it can't be a name anybody else is using. It must be unique. Our lives have become so public that how do I find something unique and unused in such a public world?

So what do I do? I ask! I asked on Facebook. I asked my daughter. I asked my nieces who have great blogs--they are my inspiration. I asked my brother-in-law who has a wicked sense of humor. Everybody has great ideas.

The downside of all the asking is all the answering. HOW DO I DECIDE? Well, obviously I've decided on some sort of name because you're reading this. I can't post to my blog until it is named. Blogspot says so. Blogspot says the first thing I need to do is name my blog. Such an important task and it has to be first!!! I can't choose my template, I can't post a pic, I can't do anything until I've named it!!!

Just think--the first thing somebody sees about my blog is the name. So, after all the worrying and all the asking and all the considering, here is the name of my blog: Leelu's Letters

Now I've become part of the 21st Century. I have a blog! Oh no--what do I write? What pictures do I put up? How do I find the time to write interesting posts? WHAT HAVE I DONE?