frazzled & frumpy

Our day started bright and early- 6am at Lindsey's house to get that 'bridal glow'. (Thanks, Lindsey!)  Gorgeous, yes? Then, after a quick breakfast, it was off to Salt Lake. Bride and sister in one car... "I'm getting married!"  Groom and brothers in another... "We're getting married."   Photo from lds.org A temple marriage ceremony is beautiful and simple. They don't allow pictures inside the temple,but if you want to see some photos of what the inside looks like, including a sealing room, go here .  When we came out of the temple,the weather had taken a bit of a change. We didn't take lots of pictures, but the ones we took were beautiful. If you were close enough, you could see the goosebumps on her arms. It was cold! I discovered that I don't mind the role of mother of the bride. I have some very cherished memories, like helping her get ready in the gorgeous Bride's Room an...

No words Only letters Set In random order. No sense Like a dream Remembered In bits and pieces. Tripping, falling, Grasping The ground beneath Suddenly Gone.

The snow has finally melted from my back yard. We spent the past few months buried beneath a mound that fluctuated between two and four feet deep. Now, that the white stuff is gone, I’m not thrilled with what was revealed. Forgotten toys, plastic Walmart bags, a stray shoe, and soggy Pokemon cards litter the brown expanse.  There’s also the stark reminder of how my lawn struggled last year. With malfunctioning sprinklers, half of our yard was denied the required sustenance and our grass baked in the desert sun. Now, brown patches yawn wide, promising a sparse covering at best. I love our yard. It was one of the selling points when we bought this house. When we moved here, our family consisted of 6 children and one on the way. We needed room for them to run and play, where I could say, after listening to the din created by many small boys, ‘Go outside!’  Our yard has a built in swing set with a slide. We’ve added a play house and a tramp. There is a fence to k...

Ten days. If you say it in hours, it sounds much better.  2400 hours. Oh, wait. Ten days is 240 hours, isn't it? Crap. Ten days. That's how long till my daughter's wedding. Granted, the sweet girl is doing most of the work, but still.  The next (almost) two weeks is filled with activity. *Brittany goes to the temple for the first time on Friday. *Saturday, is her shower, thrown by me. (Where we will tie a quilt, to be made by me this week.) *Also on Saturday is my audition for Listen to Your Mother . I sent a request for an audition last night around midnight. Not sure I was in my right mind. I have to finish the piece I wrote (also around midnight) and practice it so I don't make a total fool of myself. *Next week, my calendar looks deceptively empty-- until Friday. And while those calendar squares have nothing written on them, there will be a flurry of activity to get ready. * The wedding is in the morning. Then the luncheon. Then decorate the church, ...

Spencer A clarinet. (Obviously, I didn't take any pictures last night.) Last night was Spencer's band concert. We were 5 minutes late. If you know me, you'll know that to me, 10 minutes early is five minutes late. This time, we were actually 5 minutes late. Normally, that would cause me enormous stress and anxiety.  But, this was a jr. high band concert. I can't imagine the thought process that leads a person to be a jr. high band teacher. No way did they go to career day and say, "I think I'll teach a bunch of 12 year-olds to play the clarinet. I'd like nothing more than to listen to pre-pubescent kids squeak and squawk through 'Go Tell Aunt Rhody'." I'm guessing they have some angelic, saint-like gene in their makeup. . They clearly love music. And kids. Somehow, those two emotions combine to create the patience of Mother Teresa. Or maybe they're partially deaf. Last night was a music festival. Bands from four d...

I'm in a thoughtful mood today. There is so much busy-ness in my life right now. A wedding in just 18 days. A son who will be going on a mission soon. Children in school. The Handy Man at work, always at work. And me. I sometimes wonder where I fit in to all of it.  I am the mother, the referee, the taxi driver, the cook and maid. But, it feels as though there should be more. I should be more. And, so... I write. It has been a week of serious writing.  Thanks to my amazing Writing Group I have written pages and pages.  My story has evolved and developed in surprising ways. I have found that I am happiest when I am 'doing'.  That is my challenge.  To focus and do. Do you have a passion? Something you cannot live without? I have many. My family always comes first. But, lately, my words are my passion.  I love the way they string together and paint images in my mind.  Words are very real miracles. They can make us laugh or cry, bring us comfor...