Happy Birthday Cali!

Today is my niece Cali's 16th birthday. She is going on her first date......with her daddy! Happy Birthday pretty Cal-girl!

They Came!

I have decided that I need to quit whining about the lack of dancing in my life. The only person in my way is me. Last Thursday evening I ordered some new tap shoes. I haven't done it in twenty years! Today one of the brown cockroaches pulled up in front of my house and delivered my coveted tap shoes. Aren't they pretty?

You may wonder why I called my friendly neighborhood UPS man a cockroach? We used to live over by the UPS distribution center in Tempe. At precisely 8:30am a whole bunch of brown trucks came out of the center and spread out over the streets. I always thought it looked like a bunch of cockroaches fleeing from the light! You didn't want to be in traffic when they disbursed because there were so many of them, and you wouldn't be going anywhere fast when they all came out.

So anyway, my husband came home from work and heard me happily clickety clacking away in the garage.....er uh my dance studio. The operative word here is happily!

Happy Birthday to Y'all!

It's a three generation birthday in our family today. It's Lee's mom's birthday. It is also her son Sheldon's birthday. It is also her granddaughter Tara's birthday. Have a great day all of you!

Cha Cha Cha!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love the dance. It really doesn't matter what kind as long as it is good! Last night on PBS was the first night of the 3rd season of America's Ballroom Challenge.

Last night's competition was the American Smooth (equivalent to International Standard) which encompasses the waltz, tango, fox trot, and Viennese waltz. My absolute favorites are the International Latin and American Rythm dances. I have such a hard time sitting still when I watch! I want to dance with them!

My dream was to marry a man who loved to dance and we would eventually compete together in my favorite dances. Anyone want to venture a guess as to how that dream is coming along? My husband says that he would be fine if I danced with another, but that wasn't part of my dream. Anyway, I have four more weeks of ballroom dance to watch on Wednesday evenings on Channel 8!

P.S. Happy Birthday to my celebrity crush, Justin Timberlake. He's 27 years old today! Be sure and check him out in the new Pepsi commercial during the SuperBowl.

Happy 13th Birthday Miss America!

Today is my niece Erica Peck's 13th birthday. A big teenager now. Erica is who I like to refer as Mark's kissing cousin. Mark and Erica were born the same year although at opposite ends of it.

Mark and Erica have always gotten along with each other. The even look like they could be brother and sister.

Even now these two generally have a good time together and seem to have the most in common with each other.

So Erica, Miss America, Happy Birthday to YOU! Be a good teenager and always do what GRANDMA SAYS.

Did you know?

Did you know that the photo on your driver's license expires? I got a letter in the mail from the MVD telling me that my photo has expired and I had to rectify that by February 1, 2008. My prior license was issued to me in December of 1994. I still look like that picture.

Anyway, today I went to the MVD and had a new photo taken and I look like death warmed over. It's a semi-profile picture (even though I was facing the camera straight on!). Don't get me started on the whole nose sensitivity thing. I DON'T DO PROFILE PHOTOS!!!!!! The lighting on it is horrible. I look like I have dark brown hair and enough make-up on to make a hooker blush!

I only hope that no one ever asks me for identification ;)

Life goes on.

I am heavy at heart today. President Gordon B. Hinckley, the 15th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, passed away yesterday evening. I had never met President Hinckley personally, but I felt like I knew him. He always seemed so personable and "real" to me. I felt like he understood the struggles that we have as Latter-Day Saints in this world.

I will miss his sweet sense of humor. I will miss his addressing us in conference. Whenever President Hinckley spoke and encouraged us to "be a little better", I always felt that I could. I wanted to. I am encouraged by the fact that he is reunited with his sweet, cute wife. I loved his wife so much. I always thought that those two were the cutest couple alive. I love the video of the mothers and daughters of the First Presidency, it's so funny. We have lost our dear prophet only for a season, we will surely continue to be blessed as we follow the example of his life and his ministry. Godspeed President Gordon B. Hinckley.

I had another friend pass away yesterday morning. Her name was Sharon Schafer. I have known Sharon for about 15 years. We met at work and at first I thought that she didn't like me. I came to know later that it was my office mate that she didn't care too much for. That was Sharon. She was a twice divorced woman who never had any children but, she always had a dog. She loved her dogs like children. I wonder how Tucker is doing now that his Mom is gone.

Sharon lived a very unassuming life and didn't venture out of her comfort zone too much to let people get to know her. I made her my personal friend by including her in my life as much I possibly could. Sharon was diagnosed with multiple myeloma almost two years ago to the day. She was very afraid of the diagnosis and more afraid that she would die. This all came about as we were having struggles in our own family. I decided to serve Sharon as best I could by taking her to doctor's appointments, hospital procedures, lab work, grocery store, pharmacy, you name it. I wanted her to feel that she was not alone and that people did indeed care for her. Now, let me qualify that by saying that Sharon didn't make that easy as she was fiercely independent. She didn't want to impose or have to say that she needed help. She was, however, always grateful for the help that she did receive.

Many times I had the opportunity to assure her that she indeed had a Heavenly Father that loved her. I'm not sure that she believed it since she felt like she was being punished for something that she did. Sharon didn't grow up religous and I had the opportunity to share with her the gospel at different times. She ultimately rejected it but didn't want to tell me because she thought that she would offend me.

Long story short, I had been thinking about Sharon all weekend thinking that I needed to call her and planned to do so this morning. I hadn't talked to her in a couple of weeks. Sharon would have been 63 in the next few weeks. I take comfort in knowing that she is free from the pain and that she finally has the opportunity to reconcile with her mother and get to know her Heavenly Father and know how much He loves her.

Life goes on.