HEAVEN JUST GOT CLOSER!

...and the angel of the month award goes to my amazing sister-in-law CAROL for sending this miracle-in-a-mug!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional) {why optional?}

A small splash of vanilla extract

1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well.

Add the egg and mix thoroughly..
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well..
Add the chocolate chips (if using) {when} and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT ! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).
And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?

Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

There's just one thing more to say...mmmmmmmmmm!

NOT AS TOUGH AS I THINK I AM...

Look out bubble bath - here I come!

Life (or the dealing with loss) doesn't get any easier. For some reason, I thought I wouldn't find it so hard to bear another hole in my heart, but it just gets tougher and tougher - not my heart, but the healing. Maybe, because of all the other holes there, the fabric is wearing thin and ragged. ...maybe it isn't ragged, but more resembles lace, and all the greiving has made it more beautiful - you know - that breathtakingly painful beauty?... I do know that time will soften the edges just as age softens our vision (so the wrinkles don't show up as much in the mirror) and with the help of loving family, friends and my Savior I will cope.

...and a nice long soak in the tub.

THE CHALLENGE: ACCEPTED

I know I've been a slacker lately, but...here goes the challenge Bev gave {a while back} on:

Some interesting and not so interesting things about ME!

I am: stubborn, sassy, yet very old fashioned, and a great hugger!

I think: it's time to do something seriously FUN!

I want: my Lena...and Wanda, Norene, Mom...

I have: way too many pairs of shoes - since I'd rather be barefoot!

I dislike: constant whining & complaining

I miss: my Toni & Todd...

I fear: scorpions, fire, and deep, dark water

I feel: privileged to have formed so many lasting friendships!

I hear: QUIET, and it is FABULOUS!

I smell: Red Door - wear it daily

I crave: chocolate & cheese - they are both so sensual on the tongue...(I seriously need help)

I cry: when happy, sad, mad, whatever...

I usually: make my bed every morning - at least I pull up the covers on hurried mornings

I regret: the grey hair my rebellious nature inflicted on my mother

I search: for far more things than I care to admit as I age

I wonder: if I will ever marry again (guess I have to date first, huh?)

I love: having my daughter and granddaughter near me

I care: about making a difference while I'm here

I always: wear nail polish on my toes

I worry: about the success of my agents

I am not: afraid to try new things

I remember: my carefree and wonderful childhood (wait- did I ever leave it?!)

I believe: in eternal families - that's what keeps me going

I dance: in the rain - alone

I sing: in the car - loudly if I'm alone

I don't always: get my trashcan to the curb on Wednesdays 'cause I can't get my can out of bed!

I argue: with myself - you see my body and mind don't agree on a lot of things anymore!

I write: because I like the feeling of pictures flowing out of my fingers in words

I win: at Yahtzee about half the time and Andi wins the other half

I lose: track of time when I'm happy

I wish: I could time travel

I listen: to my heart over my head most of the time

I don't understand: how an ounce of chocolate makes a pound of fat!

I can usually be found: at my desk

I watch: my granddaughter grow way too fast!

I need: to use the stairs more often!

I forget: ...now what was I going to say?

I am happy: most of the time!

If you read this, you are now challenged to do the same blog with your answers! Have fun!

PEACE AND REST

I love you LENA...and I miss you already...

I'm glad I got to say goodbye ~ for now ~ and give you love and kisses yesterday. You have enriched my life far more than I was ever able to tell you (I tried here), and it's going to have a another hole in it without your presence . I know we will be together again --- however, I don't intend for that to happen for a long, l o n g time. So, hug my babies for me, please, and give my love to Mom & Dad and Wanda and Norene...Have a wonderful reunion {I think I may even envy you that} and enjoy that peace and rest you so deserve.

Until we meet again...

TAKE IT FROM THE SQUIRRELS - STORE, STORE, STORE!

OK - I am now the official lead squirrel for the ward I'm in. It's a good thing we don't choose our own church callings! My bishop said he wouldn't have chosen it either! Well, actually, I'm quite excited about it. This is kinda' how he said it - "We as a ward have done a project - like a dry pack day - and felt really good about it. But, then we don't do anything for another year. We need you {that would be ME} to be a thorn in our side {wow, a thorn, huh} and be constantly reminding us to work on our food storage!" I know I'm thankful for revelation and inspiration, but if any of you have some great tips and ideas for me that would be ever so GREATLY appreciated!

A BUCKET FULL OF DREAMS!

A young girl just has to dream. O, remember those carefree, warm spring days lying on your back on the soft cool grass gazing up into the sky and imagining yourself soaring with the birds, or sailing on a puffy white cloud in a clear blue sea catching stars, or maybe sliding down a rainbow and splashing into waves of delightfully fragrant flowers... Can't you just hear your inner music lifting in harmony with the images of what you will become? I can... maybe as far back as a 3 or 4 yr. old. I think perhaps that my vivid imagination started filling a bucket full of dreams way back then...

• Sitting on a limb in the mulberry tree with a "V" shaped branch above my lap transformed me into a rocket ship pilot racing toward the stars, and my dreams of flying sprang forth to have a hold on me still.



• That magical change of the straight stick I was twirling into a "baton" instantly put me in front of a marching band as their white-booted majorette - tall, feather emblazoned hat on my head - picking my knees up so high - march, march - leading the parade - march, march!



• Listening to my mother's soft lilting voice each night as she read us bedtime stories that sprang to life and transported us to far-away places, planted a seed in my soul to someday create those same feelings in others - journeys in the mind made with words.



• O, how I dreamed of becoming a ballerina! I walked on my tippy toes and that wasn't enough. I folded my toes under and walked on their "knuckles" just to get the feel of the toe shoes I wanted so desperately and would never have...



• Sitting beside my grandmother as she brushed strokes of paint across a fresh canvas gave me a desire to capture the beauty of life and freeze it's moment forever for others to behold!

...some of those dreams fell to the side of my life as their importance faded, while others actually came to fruition. Then there are those DREAMS of an older, wiser, more experienced woman that still beckon...
That BUCKET of childhood dreams has mingled with the hopes and determined goals of today and, as I muse on these things, I reach into that bucket and begin anew...

99/100% PURE - POOH! SAYS I !!

They say scents evoke memories - well, here's one of mine...

See that wood and metal thingy above? That is a washboard! Bev had a picture of one on her blog not too long ago and said how she had never had to use one. Be so thankful dear Bev! So very thankful. Even though I'm not, nor ever was, a pioneer, my fingers still recall the feel of one of those boards. My nose on the other hand (well, actually it's on my face - not a hand - let alone the other - o, never mind, I'm sure you get it) sniffs in the aroma-memory of a bar of Ivory Soap AND my baby brother's diapers. Did I just say aroma? - could I really mean stench? That odor, smell, whatever - will forever be ONE in my olfactory memory! Ivory Soap = baby pooh period.

Here's how it went down for me. Baby brother does a number in his diaper. Some one changes him into a fresh one and the soiled diaper must be dealt with. That's where I come in. Picking up the usually damp as well as smelly package very gingerly with thumb and forefinger so as to make contact with as little area of diaper as possible, I rush to the bathroom (hoping none of my other siblings are occupying it so I can get this dastardly deed done with haste), and deposit the stuff in the toilet. If it wasn't solid, it also required a bit of swishing, gag, bleh, gag, and wringing eew gross. All this is done while breathing through my very narrowly opened mouth. Then it was off to the back porch utility sink to let said diaper soak in cold water until a few were ready for me to use the washboard. OK, maybe it was more than a few, as I so dreaded this job. Getting to it meant having that smell... Here's how it's done. Prop washboard at an angle against side of sink. Lay stained part of diaper on washboard and with left hand hold onto the diaper and washboard together while with the right hand holding the bar of Ivory Soap you vigorously scrub the stain, and scrub and scrub. Then without rinsing the Ivory Soap out of the diaper, you wring it out and hang it on the clothesline in full sunshine. {I could not get the smell of the Ivory Soap/Pooh off me without drastic measures. Scrubbing myself with that scratchy grey Lava soap, and then peeling oranges or lemons or grapefruit and rubbing the peel on my hands and arms.} The Ivory Soap and the sun bleach the stains from the diapers, but not the smell. When they are dry, they go into the laundry where MOM takes over and rinses them in cold water before washing them in scalding hot water, rinsing them again in cold and hanging them back on the line to dry. Bringing them in off the line and folding them also fell on yours truly many times.

I have to tell you that they were the whitest diapers ever!

But, still to this day the smell of Ivory Soap equals baby pooh!

AN IRISH WISH FOR ALL YOU BLOGGERS!

A Wish for a Friend

Wishing you a rainbow

For sunlight after showers—

Miles and miles of Irish smiles

For golden happy hours—

Shamrocks at your doorway

For luck and laughter too,

And a host of friends that never ends

Each day your whole life through!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S' DAY

HERE IT COMES IN SEVENS!

Join the fun. Come up with a list of 'sevens' that others might not know about you. Post about them, then leave a comment.

Seven Things I Love

1. Family
2. Fresh air coming in through open windows and doors.
3. HUGS!
4. All my senses enabling me to enjoy all the colors, textures, tastes, sounds and scents of this wonderful world.
5. Going barefoot
6. Candlelight
7. Freshly laundered sheets

Seven Pet Peeves

1. Limp Handshakes
2. Inept change givers {some people can't count back change properly - if at all}
3. Loud noises early in the morning
4. Cars taking up more than one parking space
5. Errant shopping carts in parking lots {I've been known to gather a few of them up as I park my cart properly}
6. Phone calls that are a recording
7. Eating while talking on the phone

Seven Things I Can't Do

1. Follow directions {according to my darling daughter}
2. Swim under water
3. Use technology {without someone showing me hands on first, then it's basics}
4. Jog {I'd bruise my chin}
5. The splits {well, actually I can - just can't get back up}
6. Fly a plane {something on my bucket list}
7. Stay away from CHOCOLATE

Seven Things I Can Do

1. Fix a toilet flapper or handle & replace the seat
2. Clean, clean, clean {I removed all the kitchen cabinet hardware, soaked & scrubbed it when I moved into this home}
3. Cut my own hair {have done it since I was 12 yrs. old}
4. Slay spiders for my daughter and her daughter
5. Sew {but it mostly consists of mending, now}
6. Charcoal portraits {just out of practice}
7. Re-direct objects to a different or decorative purpose

Seven Characteristics I Want To Have

1. Focus
2. Obedience {I tend to be rebelious at times - not that I want to, it just happens}
3. Self discipline {could be why diets don't work for me - ya think}
4. Courage
5. The ability to see situations from many different sides
6. Patience {yep, I want it NOW}
7. Poise

Seven Things I Can't Live Without

1. My girls
2. Sunshine {gotta have it - get grouchy without it}
3. Perfume {Red Door is my fave}
4. My FAITH {it's gotten me through some really rough times}
5. My CPAP {can't sleep without it unless I sit up}
6. Humor
7. HUGS

Seven Things You Might Hear Me Say

1. WeeHaw or WooHoo
2. Omygosh! or Omyheck!
3. ShootDangHeck!
4. Love your guts
5. S--T {I figure if my mom could say it, it can't be all that bad}
6. That's too funny
7. Hi, Miss Muffett

Thanks Bev for making this one tough by using so many answers I would have! Seriously, you know I love these things!

MOM'S 20 ?s ... ANSWERS BY ANDI

My little girl gave her little girl this cute little survey that your kids are to answer about you. I didn't see an age limit, so I gave the survey to her. It was lots of fun, you should try it - you may be surprised!

1. What is something Mom always says to you? "Hi Cutie Pie!"
2. What makes Mom Happy? "Family" {she nailed it}
3. What makes Mom sad? "When someone in your family is sad." {exactly right}
4. How does your Mom make you laugh? "Giggle, giggle" {just asking the ? made her laugh!}
5. What was your Mom like as a child? "A little s--t!" {oh, really!} "A lot like Haylee." {well, in that case...}
6. How old is your Mom? "62 - a kid at heart." {right on both counts}
7. How tall is your Mom? "5'3" - I figure you have a little more height than me." {spot on!}
8. What is Mom's favorite thing to do? "Hang out with family - oh, and play Yahtzee!" {yep, it's true}
9. What does your Mom do when you're not around? "Enjoy the QUIET!" {AMEN - well, sometimes}
10. If your Mom becomes famous, what will it be for? "Writing!" {I wish}
11. What is your Mom really good at? "Cooking." {can ya tell I like to eat it, too}
12. What is your Mom not very good at? "Following directions!" {what? she never even hesitated}
13. What does your Mom do for her job? "Babysit." {i thought it was to counsel, advise, keep legal, look cool ...}
14. What is your Mom's favorite food? "Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M's - is that a food?"
15. What makes you proud of your Mom? "How she's stayed strong through everything she's been through."
16. If your Mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? "Someone sassy - Betty Boop!" {boop, boop, de doop!}
17. What do you and your Mom do together? " (giggle-giggle) EVERYTHING!" {GIGGLE}
18. How are you and your Mom the same? "Cute, Sassy (pause) Stubborn!" {ok, then}
19. How do you know your Mom loves you? "By everything you do for me." {there's no end to what I would do...}
20. Where is your Mom's favorite place to go? "Anywhere FAMILY is."

{that's MY girl! You Cutie Pie!}