Me?

Ok, so I don't normally do these kinda things, but this one cracked me up! Whatcha think?



You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Today's Adventure

Today we were taken on a tour of the Long Beach Harbor and Port. We were also told more about
the history of the port and its impact on the Los Angeles/Long Beach Area. A wonderful presentation by the Port folks was given and then we were off on our adventure. We boarded a lovely vessel, were given complimentary chapstick, magnets/clips, brochures, and then escorted to our seats. The tour began and my camera was ready! We went all around the harbor, in all of the nooks and crannies, under the Gerald Desmond Bridge, over to the Heim Bridge and then back to Shoreline Village. So much fun and hard to believe that this is a class that I get to participate in, get paid for, and just enjoy the historical aspects as well! I even won a class set of pencils from the port! Not a big deal to most, but anything free for me, is a treat! One less bunch of pencils I have to purchase!

Photo of the day

Ok, so maybe I will post a photo of the day, or week, whichever works into my schedule.

At any rate, today I went on a field trip with my summer class for history teachers to the Long Beach Airport. Very interesting to say the least. I was not aware of the history behind Long Beach and its airport, but now I am! It has been through many changes, beginning with airplane landings being on the beach, to a terminal the size of a small house, to what we have 85 years later. Interesting!

A new goal...

Ok, so here is my new goal. I know, not like I don't have enough to do! But it is something that I think will be fun. I am going to try and post a photo from my week. It could be from a photo shoot, or just on one of my rambling photo walks.

Here is my first one. I love the rays of sun through the stalks!

I have been thinking...

I have been thinking lately about the power of friends. I have been blessed to have some of the greatest people in my life! And, I have also had to deal with some of the not so great people. But I have come to the realization that, no matter what, I am who I am. I came to this place with the gifts, talents, idiosyncrasies, and challenges that the Lord wanted in place for me. I am so far from perfect, that I will have to live a long time to even come close to being mediocre! And that is fine with me! As long as I continue to learn the things that I am to learn and enjoy the journey.

I was listening to some music and heard this song by Carrie Underwood titled "So Small". It had some lyrics that really stood out to me. Here is one part that struck me:


Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing
Is just a grain of sand
And what you've out there searching for forever
Is in your hands
And then you figure out love is all that matters after all
It sure makes everything else
Oh, it sure makes everything else seem
So small

So much of life can be, "when i own a home then..." or "when those last __ pounds are gone I will..." or maybe "if I could only..." but the thing that I have been thinking about and that is expressed in the above lyrics is that it's all there in your hands.
So, I looked at my hands, literally. They are large!
My Grandma once commented on how they reminded her of my Grandfather's hands. Oh dear.
I have on my hands rings from two of the most amazing men, my Papa's wedding band and my wedding ring from Gailon. Gailon's ring is sparkley and beautiful and my Papa's is a gold band with so much love squished into it.
I have scars and wrinkles, tan lines and freckles. And I have love.
I have hands of a teacher, crafter, mother-to-be, auntie, sister, daughter, wife, and friend. I have the hands of a servant of the Lord, one who has a testimony of the restored gospel, a daughter of God who is working to return and be with Him. I have the hands of one who is a Child of God.

There is so much love in my heart for Gailon. With all that we have gone through, he is still here! And I am too!! We have been through the trials of building our family, friendships, medical, losses, and a few more. But the one thing that is a constant is love. I love him so much! We have, and continue to have, so many adventures!
We have been working to get the photography business going, and we have been doing pretty well. Now, our next challenge is to determine his new "day job" , as his current place of employment is ending because the company is going out of business. But again, I have learned that we have the hands of hardworking people, who can make a go at anything, and succeed! So here we go!!!
Adventure is knocking and we are answering!

"Called To Serve"

See what happens when I get sick? I just can't seem to sit still or take a nap long enough to get better, so I update my blog. It is relatively relaxing, in the take-it-easy kinda way.

So, before I got this lovely allergy/summer cold thing, we had scheduled several photo shoots. Today's happened to be for a young man who is preparing to go on his mission and needed a photo to send in with his application. So, we took the opportunity and had Joe's session this morning. {After which, I promptly took a nap ;) }

Looks like a great missionary in the making!! What a blessing it is to be able to take the photos of those preparing to serve the Lord. Joe is such an incredible young man and we look forward to hearing from him as he enters this next phase in his life! On with the adventures!

OnE WoRd TaG!!!

Ok, so here is the gist, answer in only one word, copy and paste it to your blog, and tag a few friends...

1. Where is your cell phone?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pocket
2. Your significant other? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Supercalifragalisticexpialidotious
3. Your hair? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brownish
4. Your mother? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amazing
5. Your father? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Humble
6. Your favorite thing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laughter
7. Your dream last night? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interesting
8. Your favorite drink? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lemonade
9. Your dream/goal? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Successful
10. The room you're in? . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .Office
11. Your hobby? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reading
12. Your fear? . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unpreparedness
13. Where do you want to be in six years? . . . . . . . . . . . .Happy
14. Where were you last night? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nocella's
15. What you're not? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thin
16. Muffins? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . Yummy
17. One of your wish list items? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thinness ")
18. Where you grew up? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SoCal
19. The last thing you did? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Groomers
20. What are you wearing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black
21. Your tv? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Off
22. Your pet(s)? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Groomed
23. Your computer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Busy
24. Your life? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fulfilling
25. Your mood? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peaceful
26. Missing someone? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yuppers!
27. Your car? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Durango
28. Something your not wearing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shoes
29. Favorite store? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Expensive
30. Your summer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Busy
31. Like someone? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Love
32. Your favorite color? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blue
33. When was the last time you laughed?. . . . . . . . . . . . . Today
34. Last time you cried? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Awhile
35. Who do you tag? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If you are reading this consider yourself TaGgEd! Your it!!

Yahoo! Summer School is done...

...except for the fact that I now have a class to take this entire next week. Then my project time begins, as well as getting my classroom ready! Who woulda thunk that a teacher could be so busy during her "time off"? Especially since I don't get paid when I don't work during the summer months.

So, here's to the next three weeks! Let's see, what shall I do??
How about a garage sale, getting a scout troop and the Assistant Scout Master ready for camp (including the gear, food, packing of the truck, pick-up the boys, get the t-shirts ordered and designed, and any of the last minute things that inevitably come up), and then drive them all to camp, clean them up when they get home (how mom's get that much laundry done is beyond me!), and throw three of the boys in the car to drive them back to Utah.
Ummm, next I think that I will get a classroom ready that I moved into at the end of the year and haven't been able to get into until now, so it is gonna be scary! But at least it is in a bungalow and is air conditioned!! YAHOO!
Next, I think that I will tackle my denim quilt. I have been saving jeans from my family members for about three years or so, with some very special jeans from my dad. I have a few ideas and alot of fear and trepidation about taking on this project, but I am sure it will be a learning adventure, as all of my "crafting opportunities" are.

So, can I do it all? You bet! I have great friends and a fantastic mom that have said that they will help me out with some of the "festivities and fun"! Drinks are on me! Lemonade with berries for everyone!!!

"Memories, Like the Corner of My Mind..."

You get the idea! I snagged this idea from a fellow blogger:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I have together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, just about 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!

"...misty water-colored memories, of the way we were...."

Slowing Down and Picking Up the Pace

Well, things are returning to normalish. We have been busy with several photo shoots and opportunities. I continue to meet with my Grandfather to create inventories of items to be donated to the charitable organizations of his choosing and then transport things over, load by load. I have had several comments made about all of the bruises on my arms and legs, no need to worry, they are from bumping into things while carrying some rather heavy items out to my car. Something that I have learned from this experience is that it is important to always make sure that your affairs are in order, ensure that extra items are taken care of, and to keep meticulous records of my investments. Right now, I know I have investments, but I don't know where I stand with them... better check into that!

So... I have decided to turn the house upside down and downsize! Of course the upside to all of this is to have a garage sale. I have never had one on my own, so this will be an interesting experience. But it will be for fun! Some mad money! Maybe it will be for the trip to Alaska we have been wanting to go on! Maybe it will go into savings for that "just in case" day! Who knows, maybe it will only be enough for a bottle of water for the next hike we take!

Speaking of which, we found a spot to go hiking not too far from our house and boy did it kick my petunia! We have each made a goal to make it up the steepest part without stopping and still carry on a conversation! Can we do it? Of course we can! To see us chubby kiddos running up the trail must be a sight, but hey, we are having fun!

Yawn!!!

I am so incredibly tired, and yet I type away!
This has been a very busy weekend, full of family and very late nights. I guess when you stay up past 2am for about three nights in a row and then get up at 5:30 am, might be part of the reason for the extra dark circles under my eyes.
We had an extremely spiritual time reminiscing about Grandma. Some members of the family caused grief, others healed it, but all in all it was an experience that was enjoyed. I mean, the business of dying is not enjoyable, but the reminiscing and laughing about the things remembered was.
I was able to take the opportunity to create a slide show of my grandmother's life. How do you condense a lifetime into seven minutes?? But I did my best and the results were beautiful. I selected a song entitled "Lullaby" by Josh Groban and a second song from a tribute album to President Hinckley for the slide show. The words for each echoed the sentiments I was feeling.
I was also blessed with the opportunity to sing during the memorial service, so hard!!!
I am so grateful to those who supported me throughout this experience! You are so wonderful to me! I am so lucky to be surrounded with those who truly love and care for me, through trials and rocky road ice cream!

She's gone.....

My dear Grandmother passed away this morning. After a battle with an infection and being tired of dialysis, she discontinued the dialysis last Thursday. I knew that she was waiting for my Uncle George to arrive from Singapore before she made her final farewell. I feel very fortunate that I was able to spend some time with her over the last week, especially late last night. She is in a place where there is no pain, sorrow, or difficulties. She is with Grandpa Cobabe, my dad, brother, and countless other family and friends.

We love you Grandma and will miss you!!