Meet Lancelot

Let me introduce you to Lancelot.He is the mascot of the Student Financial Services office and he cheers us up each day.
He came into being because one day while John and I were on an excursion in Nelson County we saw a yard sale with a sign that read "New Home Interior Items" and I began to salivate!
Most of my accessory decorating pieces had been left behind in Oregon and so I am always looking for inexpensive ways to replace them.  After finding some great deals on flowers and Christmas greenery I happened upon a cat.  He had never really been out of his box and I could tell he wanted me to take him home!He had several different outfits for different holidays and the price was right so I got really excited!  I didn't have anywhere I could use him in our tiny little home but I knew he would love the office.
The first outfit he got to wear was his Halloween (personally one of my favorites!)

Next came Thanksgiving and he didn't have an outfit so I made him this:

 Then along came Christmas and he wore this:

 After Christmas we decided he needed something for the cold weather so I made him this:

He made us all feel warmer just looking at him!

 As we approached March we knew that he needed to celebrate St Patrick's Day so this is what I came up with: (This is Tilly's favorite)

 Every morning when I walk in the office he makes me smile!  He actually is the perfect pet since he is very well behaved , treats everyone the same and doesn't shed!!
Can't wait to see his Easter outfit(think bunny ears) or his patriotic one? Check back and I will  post those as they come along. I'm trying to figure out a "generic" outfit for when there aren't any holidays and I'm  open for any ideas if you have some!

Happy St Patrick's' Day!!

Luxury and Fun!

One of the reasons I came back to Virginia was so that I could be near my sisters after over 30 years of being far apart.  Last fall we determined that we need to schedule time together or it just doesn't happen in our busy lives.  We had heard of a great deal at the Greenbrier Hotel Resort for what they called the "Tribute to the Virginias".  They had a special deal where you could stay for two nights and have your dinner and breakfast included each day for an amazing price.  We decided to go for it and scheduled a time right before Christmas. Keep in mind that these were non refundable, non transferrable reservations. Several weeks before we were to leave my sister Kathy ended up in the hospital.  The original diagnosis looked like she would be out and ready for a good vacation in time but then things went wrong and she had complications with her breathing and they couldn't get her off the respirator.  Things continued to worsen and then our major concern was for her life.  Connie, my oldest sister, sprang into action and called the Greenbrier, explained our situationl,shed a few tears and the Greenbrier graciously changed our reservations to late February.  There were a few complications along the way but by last weekend we found ourselves at the Greenbrier!  We had an amazing time and enjoyed each others company.  It was such fun seeing how the really truly rich live.  Kathy (almost all well!) said her friend described the Greenbrier as like being on a Cruise Ship without having to go anywhere.  I think that is an accurate picture.  There is so much to do there and it was all included.  If you would like to read more and see more pictures here is the link to the Greenbrier web site.resort.http://www.greenbrier.com/the-greenbrier.aspx.

The casino is under those flowers!

Grand Staircase

As you can see by it's main page they have a Casino.  They put it underground and it is only available to guests of the resort.  Here we are in front of the fountain at the Casino.  We weren't allowed to take any pictures of the casino itself (I tried).

They have such amazing service and although the resort was at full capacity that weekend they treat you like you are the only one that is there.
Here we are as we began our trip.  The wind was beginning to pick up as we left my house so we look a tad wind blown!

It was snowing lightly when we arrived but the bellhops helped us get all settled in to our rooms.  Aren't these great looking rooms?  The beds were wonderful!

We took a tour of the underground bunker that was secretly there since the 1960's for the evacuation of the house and senate.  A truly fascinating story full of intrique.  Go here if you would like to read more about it.
http://www.greenbrier.com/staying-here/the-bunker/bunker-history.aspx It would still be operational today if it had not been compromised in 1996.

Dorothy Draper http://www.dorothydraper.com/History.html did all of the interior and her company continues to do so today.  It is very eclectic and you would never think so many diverse things would look good together but they do!  Here are some interior pictures. I should have taken pictures of the bathrooms, they were amazing..marble, granite and real towels for each person! Everything in this place is perfect!

this is the cameo room..see why?

Cameo Ballroom

this amazing fireplace is the only operating one in the hotel.  It is lit with the first chill and it is kept burning round the clock until the warm weather arrives. Above the fireplace is a painting of George Washington just like the one in the capitol in DC but this one was painted by Stewarts daughter.http://www.georgewashington.si.edu/portrait/non-flash.html

There is a picture of President Kennedy in front of this hallway. 

We ate very well!  Breakfast was in the Main Dining Hall and there was an all you could eat Buffet or we could have anything on the menu. I had eggs benedict one day and the buffet the next.

Every day there was coffee in the morning, tea and cookies at 4 and hot chocolate and cookies at 9.  So much fun!

I didn't get pictures of the ice skating rink, the bowling alley, the infinity pool, the spa, the bocci ball courts,tennis courts and on and on..so much to see and do.We went to the presidential cottage museum and had a wonderful slide tour one morning led by the Greenbrier Historian. I did get a few pictures of the amazing pool.  It is still the original tile pool!

People originally came to this part of West Virginia for the mineral springs that abound.  This is the Spring house on the property.

 They even have a Falconer that is a local member of the Mormon church. Many of the employees at the resort are from families that have worked there for generations  I am so glad that we were able to experience all of this with sucha nice package deal!  We hope to return next year!
 Here we are on our final night on the steps together.  I love being with my sisters! What a wonderful trip we had (and it's only an hour from my house!)

A perfect Valentine

So much has gone on that I haven't posted about  but I did at least want to officially put on my Blog that JJ is engaged to Brittany Gibbons and they will be married in June in the Washington DC Temple! 

  She is a very special  young woman that is a junior and  an art major at Southern Virginia.She has grown up here in Virginia and  her Dad works for the school and her Mom works for the institute. Everyone who knows her loves her and are so excited for these two!  We are looking forward to being related to the whole family! 

 Brittany wanted JJ to choose her ring without input from her and so after he had done a lot of research and looked at many rings he took me with him to do the final picking.  It was a wonderful, sweet experience and I felt so blessed to be a part of it.

June will be here before we know it!!

Ice + Cardinal = OOPS

You just never know how quickly things are going to change in your life.  I have been preparing and getting excited about my trip to Washington and Oregon on the 1st of November and was anxious to get all of my work done at school so I could just enjoy myself.  We had a "surprise" snow Thursday night but it was just a skiff so I wasn't concerned.  John plays Raquetball every Monday Wednesday and Friday at 6:30 AM and when he came home Friday he couldn't get up the driveway so he parked on the street.  I always have to be at work at 8:30 on Fridays for a meeting so he usually goes in with JJ and I leave ahead of him.  I'm sure by now you're figuring out what is about to happen..but where do the Cardinals come in? 

My sisters and I give each other cardinals all the time because right after my Mom died Connie was taking a walk in the woods and saw a male and female cardinal together next to the path.  She decided it was a sign that Mom and Dad were together and they are watching over us.  We are always on altert for "double Cardinal" sightings and as I walked down the driveway on Friday I spotted a gorgeous Cardinal in a tree in the neighbors yard and was intently looking for the female when my legs went straight up in the air!  I found myself flat on my back staring at the beautiful blue sky and was very impressed with myself that:
A:  I wasn't dead
B:   I wasn't unconcious (did hit my head)
C:   I hadn't broken my back or hips!
As I lay there I debated what to do...crawl back to the house?  Yell for help (no one would hear that!) or crawl to the car and go to work.  I opted for 3 and when I stood up my ankle hurt a little but I could walk.  By the time I got to work I was feeling a little woozy and the ankle was beginning to throb but I went to my meeting.  By the end of the meeting I could barely walk on my foot.  My boss genereously lent my a baseball bat he has in his office to use as a cane.  I continued to work until almost noon when the pain in my ankle just became too much.  At home, when I took my boot off, I knew that I had done some damage!  We plunged my foot into ice water (didn't have any ice so used snow!) and then into hot water on the advice a friend who is a basketball player.  After that fun ritual I planted myself feet up to begin RICE..rest,ice,compression and elevation.  Yesterday I had it x-rayed and it is not broken but severely sprained. I haven't  been able to put any weight on it until today and I have crutches and a nifty new fold up cane!   Now Emilie has two kids and ME to help through the airports! Maybe we'll be able to ride in those carts to our gate!
It is now in the hands of a loving Father in Heaven.  I have received a beautiful priesthood blessing and expect that the Lord will honor that blessing.  I will continue to do all I can to expedite the healing and he will do the rest so that this can still be an amazing trip!
Washington and Oregon, here I come, limp and all!

Time Flies on Wings of Lightning

Time has flown since Christmas and continues to zoom by me.  I passed my...gasp...62nd birthday and was happy when I discovered it wasn't 63!
The two in this photo you might not recognize are Brittany (JJ's girlfriend) and Jeff (JJ's friend who had just gotten into town and was hungry!)

Here is the gift Tommy and Jack made for me:

I haven't been excited about a new appliance in many years but I got a great Rice Cooker that is also a steamer and slow cooker.  It is great for making everything in one pot and having it ready on time.  It even has a Brown Rice setting! This picture is for Lindsay!

 I had lots of time off at Christmas and was so glad to just relax and be with Papa and do whatever we wanted.  We went to two movies (the Tourist..I thought it was cute and True Grit which I thought was great fun) and enjoyed an evening of dining out with friends. Yumm... I have stuck to my Weight Watchers plan and have lost 8 lbs in the 5 weeks since I started so I'm feeling pretty good!
We got the Kinect and have had a blast bowling, rafting, obstacle coursing and even playing ping pong all from the comfort of our own basement!  It is great exercise when you really get going so I am happy.  The weather has been VERY cold and we only spend the time outside we need to which now is just from car to Main Hall and back.  We had over 88% retention so we all received raises at school which made for a nice New Years gift.  I have been able to get the house really squared away and it really feels like home now and for my birthday (thank you Christy!) I got some great new dishes that finish off things for me.
Last year in our Sunday School class they had us write down goals for the coming year, seal the envelope and then this year they gave them to us to look at so we could see how we did.  I was very pleased that I had accomplished what I had said I would, except that pesky 25 lb thing!
 The one thing I am really glad I wrote down was to learn indexing.  It has been a great experience for me because I can do it at my own pace, set my own goals and it praises me when I reach them! I like knowing that I am helping someone else and I can do it every day if I want to.  I have asked them not to call me as an indexer because I think that would take some of the enjoyment out of it for me.  Sounds a little nutty I guess but I just want to do it because I want to do it.
Right now is one of those times when you just breathe in and are happy that life is good, that all are well and happy and the Lord is giving you some room to breathe!
Happy New Year to you all...a little late but sincere just the same!

Labels

I wanted to share this video with all since I think it is so true that we label kids way too much with the wrong types of labels!

Christmas- How are we doing?

Last Christmas morning I wrote about the need to adapt and change our celebration of Christmas because of the stage of life we are in so I thought I would throw out a few comments on how that is coming along.
This year I felt so good leading up to Christmas!  We had all of our shopping done long ahead of time, we had the goodies made and the recipiants chosen, we had a nice fun house to decorate and all the decorations were up and lit, we had two parties and enjoyed the feelings of the "old days". We attended a Christmas Tree lighting, a Parade, the Temple, 3 Christmas Concerts and a wedding reception.   I was able to go spend an entire day with one of my sisters helping another of my sisters and Christmas Eve was a lot of fun.  Emilie, Logan, Tommy and Jack came over and we  unwrapped gifts, we had a nice family dinner (note the red chargers Hope!) and we got an X-Box 360 with Kinex which everyone had fun doing!

 Dad, JJ and I read the Christmas story accounts from Mathew, Luke and Nephi together and enjoyed those quiet moments with the last child home (maybe his last?)  So far so good!  On Christmas morning is was nice to have a reason to get up so we could watch JJ open his gifts.  I made a breakfast casserole (thank you June Smiley from one of our retreats in Newberg!) and Emile brought the boys over for awhile while Logan slept.  I got to watch Toy Story 3 with Tommy (and cried...again!) but all too soon they too had to go home and the house was quiet.  I ate too much junk ( I gave up on points for the day), listened to Christmas music and watched the light snow begin to fall, and started to fall into a bit of a funk (maybe the sugar!). 
So the upstart of all this is that we have made progress toward our "new" celebration but I found the hole...Christmas day itself.  I think I have discovered that I  haven't learned to just relax and enjoy the moments of quiet.  I feel like I should be doing something all the time.  That somehow just sitting and reading a book is shirking my duty.  Dad and I finally sat down and watched one of my favorite Christmas movies...You've Got Mail (right up there with Sleepless in Seattle and While you were Sleeping!) and I felt better! 
Somehow I think that moving into the house and all of the decorations made me feel like things really were like they used to be.I realized though that with half of our family on the other side of the country and everyone having their own lives to worry about the reality is that I need to change focus.  The incident with my sister's health this year also reminded me once again of the fact that we never know if there will be a next Christmas for us.  That each one is special in it's own way and that we need to enjoy all of life and the love and connections we do have today.
 They canceled church for our ward this morning because of the weather but Emilie's ward still had church so we were able to go and it really changed my attitude.  When we discussed in Relief Society the difference between Joy and Happiness I realized that I had been looking at the wrong thing.  That we can always have Joy and that Happiness is fleeting.  Joy comes from within and Happiness is dependent on outside factors.  What I was missing was the JOY of Christmas.  That what really does matter is that Christ really did bring JOY to the World, and to me.