Tagged

I have been tagged by two of my dear friends. These are easy fun ways to add a post so for any of you that read my blog and are looking for a free and easy post to update your own blogs, consider yourselves tagged.

20 years ago!
1988
1. I was 13 years old and starting 8th grade.
2. I had a very regretful mullet haircut.
3. I was in girls chorus in middle school and loved it very much.

10 years ago!
1998
1. Alex was two and Jay was in school at NC State.
2. Spencer was on the way and my resting heartrate was 100 all the time. I also had trouble walking. Overall I was one sick pregnant woman.
3. We lived next door to Ken and Lauren and played card games all the time. Life was very fun.

5 years ago!
2003
1. Living in Virginia now.
2. Alex was 7, Spencer was 4, Sarah was 2.
3. Jay's ship was in the ship yard and I was working hard as the Spouse's Club Pres.

3 years ago!
2005
1. Living in Rhode Island
2. Nathan was born in December and so I spent most of that year in bed.
3. Jay was home all year long.

1 year ago!
2007
1. Living in Virginia again
2. Jay returned from a year in Iraq in the summer and Spencer was baptized.
3. Cross country family road trip and summer in Rhode Island.

This year so far!
2008
1. Jay commuted the first half of the year from Rhode Island and then deployed.
2. Children finished 1st, 3rd and 6th grades
3. Taking a dance class for the first time in 15 years.

Yesterday!
Saturday
1. Went to the airport
2. Went to the beach
3. Went to the pool

Today!
Sunday
1. Went to church
2. Went to the playground
3. Talked to Jay

Tomorrow!
Monday
1. Going to dance class
2. Going to the grocery store
3. Organizing for back to school

Next Year!
2009
1. Another cross country car trip for the family, minus Jay.
2. Another deployment for Jay.
3. 15 Year Wedding Anniversary. Still very happily married.

Tag You're It

Memory Game

1. As a comment on this post, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

And if you're just a "lurker" that I don't know very well, please use this as an excuse to comment and say hello!

Gratitude Weekly - Good Food

I love good food. If I am not careful I will become obsessed and gain weight and spend all my money on good food. To prove my point, one summer in high school I spent half my earnings on eating out that summer and gained 20 lbs.
This week I had a great week of food. My dear sister-in-law came to visit and I used the excuse to enjoy many of my very favorite restaurants and it was awesome. First night that she was here we went to The Cheesecake Factory; I had Chicken Piccata and Chocolate Moose Cheesecake. It was fabulous. Thursday night we went out for seafood. I had shrimp, scallops and clams. Friday lunch we went to Paul's Deli. That is my favorite place for lunch and I always get the same thing there; a Club Special. It never fails to totally satisfy me. Dinner Friday night we went to a Japanese Steakhouse where I had shrimp and scallops again. Then later to Coldstone Creamery. It may have been totally glutenous, but I loved every minute of it.
So what am I thankful for? I am thankful for great food put together in great combinations and cooked by people who have practiced their craft and perfected it. Yum! I am also grateful for the opportunity that I had this week to take a break and eat.

Jonas Brothers

Last night we had a great night back in the back in the cheap seats at the Jonas Brother's concert. We got lawn tickets and really sat in the very back. The good news was that we didn't have to worry about being in front of anyone. The Jonas Brothers really put on a great show. We had a wonderful time and I am very glad that we went.
It didn't start off great however. The opening act was Demi Lovato. Because it was still light out we couldn't see the big screen TVs, and were too far away to see the stage well. The children were very discouraged and thought the night would be a bust. After Demi Lovato there was an hour long intermission while we waited for the sun to set before the Jonas Brothers came on. When their show started we could see the TV screens really well and we could see the stage. The energy was amazing. If we could bottle the energy at that concert all our energy problems would be solved. I would just like a little bit of the energy to save for a bad day.
One of the greatest things about the concert was the way the Jonas Brothers talked to the audience about working hard at your goals and anything being possible if you work hard and try hard. Also, they have a wonderful section talking about diabetes and they are really doing a great job of teaching and bring attention to not just childhood diabetes, but ways to stay healthy to prevent adult diabetes.
At the end of the concert here are the children's thoughts.
Alex - "That was really good."
Spencer - "This was the best night of my life. I want to get really good at the piano"
Sarah - "I have never had a better day than this one, can we do it again?"
My thoughts were also along the lines of "That was definitely worth it."

Gratitude Weekly - 15 years

Last night was my 15 year class reunion. My friend Carol and I have been preparing mentally and physically for the past month for this reunion. It was a casual affair and only a handful of people showed up, but I am very glad we took the time to go and see some old friends. I am very grateful to the girl who organized everything. Someone has to do it.
What I am most grateful for in regards to our 15 year class reunion is the mental preparation. I have been through the yearbooks and mental rewind of my high school years. Not all the things that happened back then were happy memories, but there were a lot of good times too. I am grateful to look back and learn from things that happened 15 years ago. In two years I will have a high schooler myself and the memories of what it felt like to be a teenager will be helpful in helping my own children to get through those years.
High school is probably the most dramatic time of life, but as Brad Paisley says about high school in his song Letter to Me, "These are no where near the best years of our life."

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 14th anniversary. Or as Jay would say, Susan's Anniversary. The first time Jay and I met I thought he was old. I was 18 and didn't see guys in college wearing suits often. The second time we met he was on a date to the school dance with my roommate and I was wearing a very revealing dress and trying to date two guys at the same time. He thought I was a floozy, but a cute one. The third time we met was by phone and really the first time we had talked to each other. We talked for two hours and when we got off the phone I thought I want to marry a guy just like him, not him, but someone like him. I had great instincts. He is the best husband and father any woman could hope for. I'm not just saying that because he has been gone more than home for the last 2+ years. The thing that I remember most about our wedding day is that I was smiling so hard it hurt as we got married and it is one of the few weddings that I haven't cried at. I was way to happy for even happy tears and I still am.

Gratitude Weekly - The Cabin

My first trip to the cabin July 1975.
This weekend the children, my parents and I went to the Blue Ridge Mountains for a family reunion and 100th anniversary celebration. My father's maternal ancestors bought a large area of land in the mountains and built an orchard. This was the anniversary of that orchard's start. They had a wonderful day of sharing memories. Most of these relations are Quakers and in true Quaker form they had a scheduled program of speakers sharing their memories and history, but allowed for anyone with questions, comments or additional stories to stand and share also. I didn't get to enjoy much of the program because I spent the day climbing up and down the mountain with a 2 year old, but what I did hear I enjoyed so much.
What I really appreciated about our trip to the mountains was visiting The Cabin. The Cabin was built for my paternal grandmother's mother. My great grandmother had 4 daughters and their husbands worked together to build her a cabin on the orchard. The cabin is basically three rooms downstairs and a bathroom, with one room upstairs. On the back side of The Cabin is a large screened in porch with a newer bathroom that has been added on. It isn't huge, but it feels roomy enough and the view is spectacular. View back in 1975, has only improved through the years.
Growing up I didn't really like to go to The Cabin. I prefer my nature climatized and bug free. Stories of snakes and bears kept me close to home, but truly The Cabin is one of the great places where children can go out and play and just go back in time to safer time and place where all you really hear around you is nature. We spent one summer at The Cabin painting and cleaning the inside up really nice and ever since it has been a much better place to visit. I have only visited The Cabin once since getting married 14 years ago. When we visited this time I was greatly impressed by how well kept up everything is and how much I would like to return with my family again soon. I do believe that to fully appreciate the beauty and peace and mostly the special quality of the the area growing up is required. We had a wonderful trip and I was really impressed by all that we saw and were a part of this weekend.

Baseball the way it should be

Spencer and I went to baseball game last night with the cub scouts. The leader was able to get us a sky box for the game. I was totally meant to watch all sporting events from a sky box. There was food and leather couches and chairs plus a TV that showed us instant replays. I have always thought instant replay was what was missing from live games. But the very best part of the sky box experience was the air conditioning. The team lost 7-0, but the fireworks afterward were terrific.

Gratitude Weekly - Sunday Classes without Children

I was released from teaching Primary and called to teach once a month in Relief Society. This was my first week to attend Sunday School and Relief Society in so very long. The last time I was able to attend, Nathan was still running around the hallway and I missed so much. Then I taught Spencer's class for about a year and now I am back to attending my classes. It was so wonderful to sit and have the opportunity to be taught. Our teachers were wonderful and I learned so much and really felt so recharged at the end of church. I will miss my class, but I am so very thankful for a Bishop who knew what my needs were even if I didn't.

Gratitude Weekly - Vacation

Last weekend when I would have been updating my blog about what I am grateful for I was out of town. The children and I went to Raleigh for a few days with friends. It was so great. We rested and relaxed and got away from the phone and computer which for me is as good as it gets to getting away. On top of all that I won best 3 out of 4 games of Phase 10. I love to win. Our friends made our stay great and we had so much fun. Thanks.