Recap the Year 2007
January:
Nate H turns 22
February:
Purshased my Life Fitness Treadmill and Hoist Universal weight machine.
March:
Aub, Nate and Claralynne came to Colorado from Texas. Aub stayed with us and Nate left for A-School March 31st. Whit turns 18.
April:
Aub and Claralynne continue to delight us with their presence.
May:
Nate and Aub move to Michigan (boo hoo). Aub turns 23. One year post cancer survival for my dad.
June:
Whit graduates from Douglas County High...... Hip hip hurray....... Now I can breathe
July:
Nate and I drive to Utah, spend time with Lori, Scott and family. Go camping and boating.
August:
My dad turns 75 years old
September:
Claralynn turned one year old on the 20th
October:
Whit and I fly to Utah to get his braces and to spend time with Lori at Halloween. My most beloved Border Collie Soda Pop goes missing on the 2nd and found and buried on the 6th. Aub finds out she is pregga with baby number 2!!
November:
Heather turns 21 so now she can have a margarita at Applebys. Worked on Thanksgiving but had the feast the day after.
December:
I turn 46, Nate 47, Veloy 78, Earl 79. Christmas, had my two kids here for a few hours on Christmas Day. Work New Years Eve.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Celebration
Carolers came to Sky Ridge and sang up and down the halls of the hospital. It gave me chills and I wanted to follow them around. I got the groups card and it had an invitation to a Christmas Eve performance. I was determined to go even if it meant going it alone. Whit went with friends. Heather with Parker. That left Nate. He came willingly.
The service included a small..... I guess you'd call it an orchestra because it wasn't a band, yet it had drums and an electric guitar, flutes, violins etc. There was a choir and a presentation about gifts, mainly the gift of Jesus. The auditorium was at least as big as the one at Bingham High and it was jam packed with people.
They had an overhead screen which displayed pictures and the words to the hymns. I really liked that you could clap after a performance. I've always disliked the fact that a Mormon service was without applause. The choir wasn't the same one as the one at the hospital, but I didn't care, it was good to be there. It felt good to sing hymns with other people. It felt good to be able to be with other people in a setting of love and kindness.
Nate has become quite synical about Christ and it has sadly rubbed off on me. But I must say I enjoyed the service and plan to start including more of the things I'd like to do like this in my life.
The service included a small..... I guess you'd call it an orchestra because it wasn't a band, yet it had drums and an electric guitar, flutes, violins etc. There was a choir and a presentation about gifts, mainly the gift of Jesus. The auditorium was at least as big as the one at Bingham High and it was jam packed with people.
They had an overhead screen which displayed pictures and the words to the hymns. I really liked that you could clap after a performance. I've always disliked the fact that a Mormon service was without applause. The choir wasn't the same one as the one at the hospital, but I didn't care, it was good to be there. It felt good to sing hymns with other people. It felt good to be able to be with other people in a setting of love and kindness.
Nate has become quite synical about Christ and it has sadly rubbed off on me. But I must say I enjoyed the service and plan to start including more of the things I'd like to do like this in my life.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Life is Fragile
News of the death of singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg has brought me to tears. I really loved his music and am sad that he has gone. But more than that, it causes me to reflect on how very fortunate I am to still have my father. Dan died of prostate cancer after battling it for three years. My father underwent prostatectomy for prostate cancer only six months after the death of his wife, my mother, and he did it alone. He is currently cancer free. I love my father so much and can't even look down that road when I'll have to say good-bye to him,
(not just because I'll have to figure out what to do with the monstrosity of garbagical items I'll have to go through) because he has been such a pillar of love and strength to me in my life.
Dan has written so many songs that have touched my heart. The kind of song you hope to hear on the radio again and again. "Same Old Lang Syne" and "Leader of the Band" and "Longer Than" have always been some of my favorite songs. In fact I was just listening to "Same Old Lang Syne" on the radio the other day driving down the road. I can't even describe how much I love that song. It is probably one my favorites. It takes me back to high school with prior loves and I cry every time I hear it.
Go to his website. Listen to his music and thank god you're still here.
I'm grateful my father is.
(not just because I'll have to figure out what to do with the monstrosity of garbagical items I'll have to go through) because he has been such a pillar of love and strength to me in my life.
Dan has written so many songs that have touched my heart. The kind of song you hope to hear on the radio again and again. "Same Old Lang Syne" and "Leader of the Band" and "Longer Than" have always been some of my favorite songs. In fact I was just listening to "Same Old Lang Syne" on the radio the other day driving down the road. I can't even describe how much I love that song. It is probably one my favorites. It takes me back to high school with prior loves and I cry every time I hear it.
Go to his website. Listen to his music and thank god you're still here.
I'm grateful my father is.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Tea Time
I have a new love for loose leaf tea, namely, Jasmine. Jasmine has an aroma I can't describe and the smell alone wakes my spirit. I think loose leaf has a much fresher taste. Here is my new infuser. It's a three piece set. The tea leaves are placed in the smaller glass cup that fits inside the actual tea cup. Then once the water is poured inside, the tea filters through the leaves and into the cup, leaving the leaves behind. Tea should not be steeped much longer than three to five minutes or it becomes bitter. Jasmine has a time limit of three minutes or I can't drink it.
Making tea in my new tea infuser is fun and cool to watch.
Making tea in my new tea infuser is fun and cool to watch.
"There are multiple kinds of teas and the Tea is harvested after each flush - the sprouting of the top two leaves and bud. The top two leaves and bud are hand plucked and then processed into any of the four types of tea, which are Black, Green, Oolong, and White.
Black tea is withered, fully oxidized (heated) and dried. Black tea yields a hearty, amber-colored brew. Some of the popular black teas include English Breakfast, and Darjeeling.
Green tea skips the oxidizing step. It is simply withered and then dried. It has a more delicate taste and is pale green / golden in color. Learn more about Green Tea.
Oolong tea, popular in China, is withered, partially oxidized, and dried. Oolong is a cross between black and green tea in color and taste.
White tea is the least processed. A very rare tea from China, White tea is not oxidized or rolled, but simply withered and dried by steaming". (http://www.stashtea.com/)
Black tea is withered, fully oxidized (heated) and dried. Black tea yields a hearty, amber-colored brew. Some of the popular black teas include English Breakfast, and Darjeeling.
Green tea skips the oxidizing step. It is simply withered and then dried. It has a more delicate taste and is pale green / golden in color. Learn more about Green Tea.
Oolong tea, popular in China, is withered, partially oxidized, and dried. Oolong is a cross between black and green tea in color and taste.
White tea is the least processed. A very rare tea from China, White tea is not oxidized or rolled, but simply withered and dried by steaming". (http://www.stashtea.com/)
Green tea has wonderful antioxidant effects, and has been linked to the prevention of cancer, lowering cholesterol, control high blood pressure, lowering blood glucose levels amidst other wonderful benefits. I find I cannot drink green tea on an empty stomach or I get nauseated. "Green tea caffeine taken in proper quantity stimulates every organ in the body. A cup of green tea will help clear a dull mind in the morning. It is also thought that small amount of caffeine present in a normal serving of green tea (9 mg of caffeine) can stimulate the skeletal muscles and facilitate muscular contraction." (http://www.sirjasonwinters.com/).
I want to show the teapot and cups I am going to purchase. 
So from now on you can call me Auntie T, or Grammy T, or mommy T, or just T.
Tag
I was tagged by Aubrey! The rules of the game should be posted at the beginning of the post. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Problem is, I only know two people who read my blog and they've already been tagged so that's why this has taken so long to complete..........who do I send it to? Oh well, no matter. Okay here are 6 interesting facts/habits about Tami!
1. I save the lives of small creatures. If you have read my prior posts you would know this. It comes from a scripture actually: "In as much as you have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me". So, yes, I think of Jesus when I save a life of a bee or spider. Kinda crazy I know. Earl says I've interpreted it wrong. He can have his own interpretation and I'll have mine. I may have "lost my religion" as REM would say it, but I have some precepts that I keep.
2. I buy things in two's and threes. My clothes closet/wardrobe shows this. So does my fridge, shoe closet, cutlery drawer, pantry, make-up kit (I should say make-up tool box), book shelf, storage closet.............. and on and on. If I like a shirt, and it's on sale, I have a worry it will get stained and then I'm out a really cute shirt. At the grocery store, I frequently have two of the same item....don't know why. I have a whole line up of spaghetti strap shirts. Nate thinks I'm done and I don't need any more. He wants me to hang EVERYTHING (and since we have such little storage space and no room for more boxes, I comply). Some people store their winter clothes in summer and vice-versa, so it appears they have less clothes. My whole wardrobe is on display and then I get made fun of for all the clothes I have. I've tried two times in the last couple of months to go through it and salvation army some of it, but I can't get rid of much. Even though I feel lots of them are not in my dream wardrobe, I hold on because of the fear I had of not having clothes. In high school, I only owned 7 pair of underware! 7 pair! You ask me what I did when they weren't clean........now you know why I have lots of clothes, many of which came from second hand stores.
3. I gave birth to three children at home, each with different midwives. Each of the births of my children were unique as the child. I did not do this because I was uneducated or ill-informed. Quite the contrary. It took much more education to have them this way. I read countless books, attended classes, and took the responsibility that not all births are emergent and should not be treated like a disease. I'm proud to see that all the years of talking about it and lending my opinion regarding home birth and the beauty of empowering a woman has filtered down to my first daughter who now reads some of the same books I did (and still has some of mine.... don't worry, I don't need them like you do right now, but my Spiritual Midwifery book is precious to me). She has taken off on her own journey and now wants to become a midwife herself, a desire I had and lost because of my career in nursing.
4. I want a tatoo (or two). I want a faery and either a troll, brownie or some other strange character. Brian Froud's talent and imagination is so amazing. I love his style when it comes to drawing characters, faeries, brownies, goblins, gnomes, trolls and woodland folk that I can't get enough of it. So I have been looking for just the right character of his to become my tatoo. I own several of his books, Good Faeries Bad Faeries, Lady Cottington's Pressed Faery Book, and a bunch more. I love all the works that have his influence, Labryrinth and The Dark Crystal
to mention a couple.
5. I would have to classify myself as Pagan. I don't think I fit in with any other type of religion. I have a pretty strong spirit and don't like to be a follower. Blazing my own trail is best. So I don't always do things like the majority of people do, ie birth at home, use of herbs (when we were considered "freaks"), free thinking. I do miss the feeling of belonging with my prior affiliation in religion and I love the hymns. But, I don't like to be told what I should wear, eat, drink, behave etc. Rebellious? Hell yes.
6. I secretly want to act. I have wanted this since 6th grade. I've been in a few plays, but the thought of being on the big screen gives me the chills. Probably won't happen, but I can dream.
1. I save the lives of small creatures. If you have read my prior posts you would know this. It comes from a scripture actually: "In as much as you have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me". So, yes, I think of Jesus when I save a life of a bee or spider. Kinda crazy I know. Earl says I've interpreted it wrong. He can have his own interpretation and I'll have mine. I may have "lost my religion" as REM would say it, but I have some precepts that I keep.
2. I buy things in two's and threes. My clothes closet/wardrobe shows this. So does my fridge, shoe closet, cutlery drawer, pantry, make-up kit (I should say make-up tool box), book shelf, storage closet.............. and on and on. If I like a shirt, and it's on sale, I have a worry it will get stained and then I'm out a really cute shirt. At the grocery store, I frequently have two of the same item....don't know why. I have a whole line up of spaghetti strap shirts. Nate thinks I'm done and I don't need any more. He wants me to hang EVERYTHING (and since we have such little storage space and no room for more boxes, I comply). Some people store their winter clothes in summer and vice-versa, so it appears they have less clothes. My whole wardrobe is on display and then I get made fun of for all the clothes I have. I've tried two times in the last couple of months to go through it and salvation army some of it, but I can't get rid of much. Even though I feel lots of them are not in my dream wardrobe, I hold on because of the fear I had of not having clothes. In high school, I only owned 7 pair of underware! 7 pair! You ask me what I did when they weren't clean........now you know why I have lots of clothes, many of which came from second hand stores.
3. I gave birth to three children at home, each with different midwives. Each of the births of my children were unique as the child. I did not do this because I was uneducated or ill-informed. Quite the contrary. It took much more education to have them this way. I read countless books, attended classes, and took the responsibility that not all births are emergent and should not be treated like a disease. I'm proud to see that all the years of talking about it and lending my opinion regarding home birth and the beauty of empowering a woman has filtered down to my first daughter who now reads some of the same books I did (and still has some of mine.... don't worry, I don't need them like you do right now, but my Spiritual Midwifery book is precious to me). She has taken off on her own journey and now wants to become a midwife herself, a desire I had and lost because of my career in nursing.
4. I want a tatoo (or two). I want a faery and either a troll, brownie or some other strange character. Brian Froud's talent and imagination is so amazing. I love his style when it comes to drawing characters, faeries, brownies, goblins, gnomes, trolls and woodland folk that I can't get enough of it. So I have been looking for just the right character of his to become my tatoo. I own several of his books, Good Faeries Bad Faeries, Lady Cottington's Pressed Faery Book, and a bunch more. I love all the works that have his influence, Labryrinth and The Dark Crystal
to mention a couple.
5. I would have to classify myself as Pagan. I don't think I fit in with any other type of religion. I have a pretty strong spirit and don't like to be a follower. Blazing my own trail is best. So I don't always do things like the majority of people do, ie birth at home, use of herbs (when we were considered "freaks"), free thinking. I do miss the feeling of belonging with my prior affiliation in religion and I love the hymns. But, I don't like to be told what I should wear, eat, drink, behave etc. Rebellious? Hell yes.
6. I secretly want to act. I have wanted this since 6th grade. I've been in a few plays, but the thought of being on the big screen gives me the chills. Probably won't happen, but I can dream.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
One Corner at a Time
Mom tried to start collecting tea pots a long time ago. She only managed to get one. So I have picked up her desire and have begun collecting for myself. I currently have four, but am online looking all the time.
I bought these two metal pots at a store called The Barn in Castle Rock and I just love them. They were purchased from an estate sale and I knew I had to have them. The detail on the metal is gorgeous.
I have wanted to have a home with lots of decorations to reflect my tastes and provide comfort and color in my life but haven't made it a priority. I have recently been shopping at a new store that has tons of the items I love at very reasonable prices so I have frequented this store on the days it's open. Unfortunately it's only open twice a week. But I keep working on two specific areas at the bottom of the stairs. The basement is where I draw the line on what I consider MY SPACE. I've taken over the decor "down under" and am filling the walls, nooks and crannies with my own style. I am hoping to learn a technique in painting walls from a couple of ladies who own a store called Rumors. I have decided to place decor and fashion on the top of my list of wants so I don't feel guilty for buying items for vanity.
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