. . . born in 1925 . . .

. . . happy happy birthday

to mom romney . . .

. . . you do the math . . .

{but, seriously ~ who looks this good at eighty-seven?}

. . . she's a lovely lady

with the best sense of humor . . .

. . . who fancies herself

a lucille ball double . . .

. . . a more generous,

caring, thoughtful person

you'll never find . . .

. . . i've been blessed

with a fabulous mother-in-law . . .

. . . that's for sure! . . .

. . . i'm jealous . . .

. . . he's the only person i know who,

given the choice of two lessons,

picks one {the day before giving it}

and then can keep

a whole room full of teenagers

and a few old people

{hi, bishop!}

captivated for nearly an hour . . .

. . . and can gracefully incorporate

stories and personal experiences

about his favorite subjects,

including {but not limited to}

missionary work,

his childhood,

our family,

old girlfriends,

sports and

politics . . .

. . . he ties them all together . . .

. . . and makes it look easy . . .

. . . and it totally relates and works . . .

. . . every time . . .

. . . good job, dear . . .

{all i have to do is bring treats}

. . . progress . . .

. . . chenille . . .

. . . the lintiest . . .

. . . fuzziest . . .

. . . messiest . . .

. . . nose itchiest step . . .

. . . ah choo . . .

{i'm off to vacuum now}

. . . even more jammies . . .

. . . i realize christmas

was nearly a month ago . . .

. . . but drew requested

one more post

about jammies . . .

. . . and who am i to refuse? . . .

. . . here's our cute daughters . . .

. . . elliott says these hoodies

look just like elmo . . .

. . . granddaughters looking good

in grey cheetah . . .

. . . studly grandsons

in skull and crossbones flannel . . .

. . . enjoying a disney princess story . . .

. . . and the babies in peppermint stripes . . .

. . . and hold the phone . . .

. . . we'll need

one more pair of jammies

next christmas . . .

. . . we can't wait to meet

a new little grandbaby

in august . . .

. . . congrats to drew and jessalyn! . . .

{it's been a l...o...n...g twenty-nine days of keeping this secret

and i'm pretty dang proud of myself for not telling a single soul

till i got the go-ahead this morning}

. . . choices, choices . . .

. . . what to do when

{yet another}

respiratory virus

{aka dang cold}

strikes? . . .

. . . 1} take nyquil

and nap on the couch . . .

{that's what i felt like doing}

. . . 2} work on

the second step

of my project . . .

{what i actually did}

. . . and 3} let's see . . .

. . . what was number three? . . .

. . . oh, yes ~ watch rick perry

bow out

of the republican presidential race . . .

. . . bonus choice 4} watch newt

blame the media

for his own indiscretions . . .

. . . oops! indeed . . .

{politics again}

. . . happy lashiversary to me . . .

. . . today i'd like to pause

and give thanks . . .

{old eyes}

. . . for this miracle called lash extensions . . .

. . . this has been

the best year

of my life . . .

{new eyes}

. . . and i'm only sort of kidding

when i say that . . .

{disclaimer: lash extensions will not make your red/tired eyes,

fine lines, wrinkles or crows feet shrink or disappear.

they will, however, save you

a good ten minutes of mascara time every morning}

. . . need/want this miracle

in your life? . . .

. . . call me . . .

. . . i know a girl . . .

. . . the first step . . .

. . . this is the start

of a very special

and {kind of} large order . . .

. . . it is also how i busy myself

and refrain from throwing objects

at the television

while ron paul

is proposing a

zero per cent income tax . . .

. . . what a goofball . . .

{i fear this has become

a political blog!}

. . . and yet, i offer no apology . . .

. . . huntsman . . .

. . . so sad to see him gone . . .

. . . NOT so sad to see him gone . . .

. . . are you watching

once upon a time? . . .

. . . the huntsman/sheriff graham

will be missed for sure . . .

. . . sunday inspiration . . .

. . . kimball stake conference . . .

. . . the theme:

doctrine and covenants 115:5 . . .

. . . "arise and shine forth,

that thy light may be a standard

for the nations" . . .

. . . president smith

posed this question:

"how do we arise

and shine forth?" . . .

. . . his answer gave me

a sense of comfort:

"for most of us,

we just keep doing

what we're doing" . . .

. . . and although

i know i have

lots of room

for improvement,

i hope the lord knows

i really am trying

to do a good job . . .

. . . c.o.y. . . .

. . . ever since

i started

paying attention . . .

. . . i've approved wholeheartedly

of pantone's choice

for color of the year . . .

{c.o.y.}

. . . blue iris in 2008 . . .

. . . 2009's mimosa

was one

of my all~time faves . . .

. . . 2010 was a no~brainer . . .

. . . i think

everyone jumped

on the turquoise bandwagon . . .

. . . ahhhhhhhhhhhh . . .

. . . honeysuckle . . .

. . . how i loved thee last year . . .

. . . so things

were going along

swimmingly . . .

. . . until? . . .

. . . i guess

one out of five

ain't bad . . .

. . . hoping for

better luck in 2013 . . .