OFF TO THE BRIGHT LIGHTS....

I will be gone for awhile....wish I was going here.... wouldn't that be loverly?!

But I am headed through these doors...

Wish my doctor was as cute as this little guy!

This will be my new bed for a bit...isn't it just beautiful?

Lovely head board, and just look at those designer sheets!

I can hardly wait!

They say everybody loves to be in the bright lights,

and have their 15 minutes of fame,

well here I come for my turn!


I will miss all of you... but I will get back to you and blogging as soon as I can.

Nothing too serious, I hope...just a full hysterectomy, I'm sure many of you out there have been through it too.
My doctor found a bit of something going on that looked a little scary, so this was the decided path to go.
Say a little prayer for me will you?
I'll be back as soon as I can...all my love to each of you!

OH, TO BE A BRIDE...(and a goodie)

~MINI LEMON POUND BUNDT CAKES~

(This makes 6)

2 cups cake flour
1/4 cup ground cornmeal
1 tsp. baking powder
zest from 1 lemon
1 cup sugar
2 sticks butter, room temp.
4 eggs
1/4 tsp. lemon extract
and you could add a bit of
fresh lemon if desired.

Preheat oven at 325*

Stir cake flour with the cornmeal
and baking powder, set aside.

In a bowl and with an electric mixer,
stir zest into sugar, til it is evenly mixed.
Add: the butter... cream together til fluffy.
Add: eggs one at a time, beating after each egg.
Reduce speed and add in the flour mixture,
until just combined.

Spray mini bundt molds with Pam.
Fill each mold about halfway full,
dividing batter evenly among 6 molds.
Could make a whole bundt cake too.

Bake 25 minutes
Remove and cool in pan for 5 minutes.
Then unmold onto a wire rack

You can serve them with whipped cream (or)
a little Lemon curd (or)
make a glaze of powdered sugar, a bit of milk
and vanilla.

I like fruit served along with them,
so, so good!

This is the Manti Utah Temple

(built by early Mormon Pioneers in 1888)

My husband and I serve here every Friday, I get to help new brides sometimes
as they come to be married. This is where this young lady (my youngest daughter)
was married.
My last post I had one of her pictures on it and some of my blog friends wanted
to see more pictures of her...so here they are.

Lindsey has been married two years now and is expecting her first baby at the end of July.
It is going to be a little girl...our 20th grand child...we are so excited!

~Michael and Lindsey~

photo's by....http://taraleavittphotography.blogspot.com

These two have been best friends and sweet on each other since 8th grade.

When we moved here, Lindsey felt kind of alone in school, so at break time she'd go out and play basketball with the boys (Michael being one of them) and they got to be best friends.

That continued on through high school, college and his 2 year mission and she went to college as she waited for his return, graduating in graphic arts.

They are a great couple, always tender and kind with one another.
But then I can say that...I am the mother!

~Have a great weekend everyone~

~~FEMININE APPEAL~~

This is my daughter Lindsey, she is the youngest and last of of children to get married.

I just had to include this shot in this post about...Feminine Appeal.

~~~~~~


I hope you will enjoy all the photo's below, they appeal to my feminine taste.
All of these came from one of my favorite magazines....VICTORIA

Femininity appears to be one of those pivotal qualities that is so important,

no one can define it.

Everything has its beauty....

but not everyone sees it.

Beauty is in the eye of the BEE-holder!

Love of beauty is...Taste.

The creation of beauty is art.

Everything has its own beauty for those who have an eye to see it.

Beauty is simply reality seen with eyes of love.

Practice random beauty and senseless acts of love.



All of the above are inspired by old Hollywood glamor, nostalgia and romance.

By Margot Elena...Lollia...a life style company featuring luxurious bath and beauty formulas,

bed products, and feminine apparel. (lollialife.com)


-and-

~DRESDEN FIGURINES~

All of these beautiful figurines originated in Dresden Germany. I have always loved them, they are such delicate pieces of work.

They have been around since the 1700's, they are quite the treasured ladies.

The bombings of world war two made these unique figurines a rare item in deed.

They truly are fragile beauties.


I hope you enjoyed all these things
of.... "Feminine Beauty and Appeal"

POEMS...THOUGHTS....AND SOMETHING GOOD~

" LIGHTEN UP "
(sung to the tune of..if you're happy and you know it!)

When life's got you overrun,
then lighten up.
Think of all the good you've done
and lighten up.
If your job is just half done and
Your battle's just half won,
Pat yourself on half your back
and lighten up.

If you're feeling loaded down
then lighten up.
Shrug your shoulders, sing a song,
and lighten up.
With a friend or two beside you
And the Savior's love to guide you-
Lighten up!
(Chieko Okazaki)

~Eight Basic Facts About Memory~

The fact that people don't stop you when you ask them to stop you
if you've told them this story...
Doesn't mean that you haven't told it before.

The fact that you're only buying a couple of items at the store
Doesn't mean that you don't need to bring a list to the store.

The fact that you've put the passports in a safe place that
they couldn't possibly get lost
Doesn't mean that you actually, currently know where they are.

The fact that you've parked your car carefully
Doesn't mean, when the movie is over, that you will
still recall where you parked the car.

The fact that you rushed upstairs because there was something you
desperately needed in your closet
Doesn't mean, once you get there, you'll recollect why you came.

The fact that you've known a person for thirty-five years
Doesn't mean, when you go to introduce him, that you can
count remembering his name.

The fact that you said good-bye and walked out the door
Doesn't mean that you won't be back immediately in order to get
all the things you left behind.

And the fact that...
And the fact that...
And the fact that, the fact that, the fact that...

I guess it's slipped my mind.

" THE PLEASURE OF AN ORDINARY LIFE "

I've had my share of necessary losses,
Of dreams I know no longer can come true.
I'm done now with the whys and the becauses.
It's time to make things good, not just make do.
It's time to stop complaining and pursue
The pleasures of an ordinary life.

I used to rail against my compromises.
I yearned for the wild music, the swift race.
But happiness arrived in new disguises:
Sun dancing in a safe and quiet place.
The pleasures of an ordinary life.

I'll have no trumpets, triumphs, trails of glory.
It seems the woman I've turned out to be
Is not the heroine of some grand story.
But I have learned to find the poetry
In what my hands can touch, my eyes can see.
The pleasures of an ordinary life.

Young fantasies of magic and of mystery
Are over. But they really can't compete
With all we've built together: A long history.
Connections that help render us complete.
Ties that hold and heal us. And the sweet,
Sweet pleasures of an ordinary life.

(These last two poems are taken from a little book I like,
"Forever Fifty and Other Negotiations" by Judith Viorst)

~NOW FOR SOMETHING LIGHT AND YUMMY~

~CHICKEN CABBAGE SALAD~

1 head of shredded cabbage, (or 1 large bag)
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
3 T. toasted almonds
1 T. sesame seeds
1 pkg. Chicken flavored Ramen noodles, crushed
2 green onions, diced
a little salt & pepper to taste,
Mix together...

Dressing:
1 seasoning packet from the Ramen noodles
2 T. sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 T. white vinegar
Mix up, add to cabbage mixture
right before serving.


I hope you enjoyed your visit here today my sweet friends,
and that you have enjoyed the thoughts...
I hope you'll enjoy the salad too...
Have a great week!

THAT INWARD STILLNESS.....

I hope you have found at crucial moments in your life, that of all the gifts our Father in Heaven can bestow upon us, surely none is more needed than the peace that comes from the gift of his Son.

Christ has warned that in the world we shall have tribulation, but he has also promised that in Him we shall have peace.

Longfellow captured a truth when he composed the following verse:

Let us labour for an inward stillness-

An inward stillness and an inward healing;

That perfect silence, where the lips and heart

Are still, and we no longer entertain

Our own imperfect thoughts and vain opinions,

But God alone speaks in us, and we wait

In singleness of heart, that we may know

His will, and in the silence of our spirits

That we may do His will, and do that only.

Let yourself "fall" upon the grace and the gift of the Son of God.
Let your hand fall into his hand that he may lead you.
Want his companionship over any other joy in this world.

Desire to do the work he sent you here to do.
As we do so, we will find a more excellent way,
in the peace that surpasseth understanding.


Have a wonderful Sabbath day my sweet friends...
May we all find....that inward stillness.

ON BEING A WOMEN.....(and waiting for spring)

What are we doing on these cold, windy, snowy days?

Hanging out in the warm spots...waiting for Spring,

hoping she hasn't forgot where we live!

Our little Zack...he loves to burrow into blankets.

~Zack and Bo...they are best friends as they sleep the day away.
I didn't intentionally buy them matching jackets...Zack's was the only xx- small they had
and it just happened to be the same one I had bought earlier for Mr. Bo Jangles!

~WILD THING~

I went for a walk in the sun without wearing my sunscreen.
I went out of town without making a reservation.
I placed my mouth directly upon a public drinking
fountain and took a sip.

I didn't bother flossing my teeth before bedtime.
I pumped my own gasoline at a self-service station.
I ate the deviled egg instead of the cauliflower with
low-fat yogurt dip.

I bought, without reading Consumer Reports, a new dryer.
I left my checking account unreconciled.
I know that the consequences could be dire,
But sometimes a woman simply has to run wild.
-Judith Viorst-

~WOMEN OVER FORTY~

(by Andy Rooney)

As I grow older, I value women over 40 most of all.
Here are a few reasons why:

A woman over 40 will never wake you up in the middle of the night and ask,
"What are you thinking?" She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around
whining about it. She does something she wants to do,
and it's usually more interesting.

Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with
you in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you
deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they
can get away with it!

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your
sins to a woman over 40, they just know.

Once ( you) get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far more attractive
than her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off
if you are being a jerk, you don't have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately,
it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, beautiful
woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a
fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress.
Ladies....I apologize.

Hope everyone has got a little Spring going on where you live,
I love it when you share some with me!

THIS BEAUTIFUL WORLD...

Whenever I hear the song of a bird

Or look at the blue, blue sky,

Whenever I feel the rain on my face

Or the wind as it rushes by,

Whenever I touch a velvet rose

Or walk by a lilac tree,

I'm glad that I love in this beautiful world

Heavenly Father created for me.

He gave me my eyes that I might see

The color of butterfly wings.

He gave me my ears that I might hear

The magical sound of things.

He gave me my life, my mind, my heart:

I thank him reverently

For all his creations, of which I'm a part.

Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me.

(Clara W. McMaster 1904)

I have been singing this sweet little song from my earliest memory, it has always thrilled my heart to sing it because I have experienced all of these things. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has created such a beautiful world for us to live in.

I love it when Spring comes, I can really enjoy my walks and nature as I go each day. I love to discover the many signs of nature, the small buds, colorful bulbs, the signs of life after a long winter, the warmth on my face, it all lifts my spirits like little else can.

I love to spring clean too, I love the smell and the look and feel of a clean home. I like to add new scented candles and oils... the new fresh scents make me happy!

Wishing everyone a Happy Spring!

And now my question to each of you is this....

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO AS SOON AS SPRING APPEARS?
I hope you'll share with me.