monday, monday

So, it is Monday of Spring Break. I should be doing something really exciting, but in actuality, I did things like pick up the house, vacuum, laundry and paperwork. Amongst the paperwork was the renewal...all online...for the driver license. My Florida driver license is 12 years old. Especially rude sales personnel tell me a)how old my license is and b)that I don't look anything like that anymore. I have also had to cope with a "sticker" on the back of my license ever since we moved back from Argentina, which always adds to the confusion whenever someone actually has to see my license. So I decided to tough it out and go to the DMV this afternoon. First, I checked online to see where my closest office was located and the hours. I noticed that you can get an appointment online and fill out the paperwork, which I did. My appointment was for 3:15pm this afternoon. I arrived at the appointed time with my passport and SS card on my person as requested. Apart from the fact that they never asked to see these documents, which were mildly annoying to come up with, it was an uneventful experience. I left the DMV at 3:23pm with my new license in hand! Can you believe that? 8 minutes! And I don't expect to hear from them again until 2014.


Afterward, I went to the grocery store. I think there is something a little bit romantic about going to the store and buying all the ingredients that you will need to make dinner that night. It was a beautiful evening and my windows and doors were open to enjoy the loveliness. However, after I started to make the preparations, we had a cloudburst, which somehow only added to the nostalgia of the moment. It was a delicious dinner. It is from this month's Southern Living Magazine called Tomato-Herb Pasta . I highly recommend it.

Tonight, well, after Family Home Evening, I plan to watch Sense and Sensibility, part one.

For a Monday--not bad at all!

ten things i like about mowing

10. If I do it, I don't have to nag my husband to mow. He keeps telling me that he is going to give the yard "a real mow" one of these days, but I don't think the weeds/grasses really know who is on the tractor.

9. I like the grass cut more often than my husband does, so if I am doing the mowing, I can mow it as often as I like.

8. It is nice to take a spin around the yard and see how things are doing...what's growing, flowering, etc.

7. The butterflies keep me company.

6. I like listening to the various bird calls too.

5. It is not labor intensive. In fact, it is kind of fun buzzing around, albeit a little bumpy.

4. When I get done, I feel like I have really accomplished something.

3. Unlike most of the things that I do, it will not need to be done again tomorrow.

2. I feel a little bit cool because I know how much my grandkids love the John Deere.

1. I have always enjoyed the smell of cut grass, but this time of year, when the orange blossoms are in bloom, the aroma is indescribably wonderful.

it's easter

I am so thankful for the Savior. I am grateful for the Plan of Salvation. I am grateful for His faithfulness in fulfilling his divine mission. Because of His atonement I can prepare for eternal life, but my life now is enriched in every way because of His life and teachings. I know He loves me. It is an honor to take His name and to be a member of His church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

guide to style

I think for most of my married life, I have wanted Doug to get a light grey suit. I finally talked him into it. I think he looks very handsome!










No, I haven't grown.

saturday jobs

I really like the Saturdays when Doug and I work together in the yard. Translate that sentence as I run around the yard and ask him to do all the jobs that I can't do by myself. Then I play errand girl running and getting all the things he needs to get it done. I spend a fair amount of time hanging out and watching his worker prowess, while he sweats and accomplishes the real man stuff. One thing about my husband is that he does a good job when he has a task to do, so I can count on being pretty happy with whatever needs to be done. When we get tired, we run errands together. He is a pretty good errand runner and even though I tell him that we have 5 errands to do and it turns into 6 or 7 or 8, he is normally okay with that too. Last Saturday he hung an antique swing near my garden and helped me prepare the garden markers for the herbs. I didn't like the wire that the markers came with as the sand won't hold them straight so now we have real stick markers. He also sprayed for bugs. We took apart the chicken coup and got it ready for the burn pile. This is all pretty exciting stuff, isn't it? The cool thing is that we had a really great day together and I guess that is the real reason that I like Saturday jobs.So...it's Friday night and I am looking forward to tomorrow!

happy birthday blog

It's two years old with 468 posts and still growing!

shopping

Gail Berge and I went shopping. We left all the girls at home to do their schoolwork and entertain themselves. Maybe another time we will take them along. We both found and purchased some things that we weren't exactly looking for. It was so much fun. We also had a great lunch at Nordy's Bistro. I recommend it!

eye doctor

I went to see the eye doctor. Ever since I had my tear duct soldered shut, my dry eye condition has been better. I am better to my eyes, too. I am finding that if I run the humidifier in my classroom in makes a huge difference. I really enjoy listening to books on CD or my computer, but I am not sure that helps my eyes that much, because I usually needlepoint while listening. Apparently, needlepoint is marginally easier on my eye.

Anyway, I got a good report from the doctor and my prescription had not changed in nearly two years. Of course, I am pretty hard on my glasses and the lenses are really scratched so I decided to go see about getting a new pair. After thoroughly cleaning them, she pronounced them seriously scratched and said she could order new lenses for me. How much will it cost I said as I braced myself for the news. She answered that they were still under warranty and it would be free. Amazing! A warranty that came through for me. It was going to expire in June, but I will have a nearly brand new pair of glasses for free! I say nearly new because I recently had to get new frames when Clark with his superhuman strength ripped them apart, so the frames are actually a few months old. What a good news trips to the eye doctor!

The Easter Story

I love the picture book called The Easter Story by Brian Wildsmith. I got mine when we lived in the UK, but you can buy it in the USA too. The pictures are fabulous.

the zimmermans

Richard and Virginia have been staying with us since last Thursday. Doug and Brianna enjoyed an adventure with them to Dodgertown on Friday. We spent Saturday together in St. Augustine. The historical sites were great, and we even saw a pod of dolphins as we were crossing the intra-coastal to visit the lighthouse, which made the day extra special. Sunday they went to Silver Springs and today Brianna showed them all around Mt. Dora. Richard worked with Doug at Hughes Aircraft and we have continued to keep in touch with them through the years. It was nice seeing them again!

andrew douglas is blessed

It was a beautiful day and a wonderful blessing. Our love and happiness continues to grow.

st. augustine

I went there with my big girls on a road trip some years ago, but today was Doug's first trip to the historic city. He enjoyed the fort, of course. I liked lunch at Casa Monica!

field trip

I finally talked Doug into going on a field trip with me and my class. We went to Silver Springs. I gave him my four most challenging boys to keep track of for the day. Here they are petting the alligator with his mouth taped shut. Anyway, he didn't seem to like it that he got the difficult group. I had no pity. I told him that I get them everyday with 16 others and I am trying to get them to do really interesting things like spelling and reading. He got to watch them while they were taking boat rides and watching animal shows. I thought they were pretty good today...you don't think I left him alone with them, do you?

steadfast and immovable

Brianna, Nashua Lugo, Megan Berge, Tori Peeler, Sarah Montgomery and Jordan Matthews

We had a Roman theme for our New Beginnings tonight. We decorated the room with 15 columns that had each girl's name written in Greek at the top. These are some of my cute steadfast and immovable girls.

perfect work day

When I was asked if I worked today, I said no, but Cherylyn said I did. Cherylyn wasn't feeling very well so she stayed to spend the day. Clark worked with me in the garden all morning. He, like his cousins, enjoys digging in the dirt with me. When Clark went down for a nap, I grabbed Andrew and sat in the garden and read. I don't have a picture of that, so I posted this one from the night before...look how cute he is snuggled up in my arms.

looking out the window

and imagine my surprise at what was looking in!

A chicken hawk, aka, Cooper's Hawk.

From Wikipedia...These birds capture prey from cover or while flying quickly through dense vegetation, relying almost totally on surprise. Most prey are mid-sized birds, with typical prey including American Robins, jays, woodpeckers, European Starlings, icterids and doves. Birds preyed on can range in size from wood-warblers to Ring-necked Pheasants. Cooper's Hawks also eat small mammals, especially rodents such as chipmunks and tree squirrels. Mammalian prey can be as small as mice and as large as hares. Other possibilities are lizards, frogs, snakes and large insects. They are increasingly seen hunting smaller songbirds in backyards with feeders. They will perch in trees overlooking the feeders, then swoop down and scatter the other birds in order to capture one in flight.

It was pretty exciting for all of us when I spotted him. But the more I have learned about our new resident, the less I like him!