Camping

Dad and I went Home Teaching to the Griffith's yesterday. Just as we were getting ready to leave, Larry mentioned that when Kathy (his wife) was first in the Young Women's Presidency, they went camping at the Dellaganna ranch in preparation for girls' camp. Then he said, "Mandi Heffner, Mandi Heffner. Mandi Heffner locked the outhouse door and thought it was hilarious." Well, dad said, "Don't stop there. We have to hear the whole episode now." Larry goes on "Mandi and CarrieAnn Stein were sharing a flashlight to use the two-hole outhouse. CarrieAnn went in without the flashlight and Mandi went in the other one with the flashlight. When Mandi came out, she locked the door of the stall CarrieAnn. Mandi laughed and laughed." I didn't know you did that, Mandi!

extraction

So I took Cody to have one wisdom tooth removed on Wednesday and it reminded me of taking Danny to the oral surgeon when he was 18 months old. He had an eruption impaction (tooth hadn't come in all the way). Well, when we came home I put him down and went into the bathroom or wherever and kept hearing this thumping noise. I went back to where Danny was and he kept falling down and getting up and walking and falling down again. He was still under the influence of the anesthetic. It was pretty funny!

First Day of Winter

Saturday was the first day of winter and it reminded me of the first day of spring quite a few years ago. Mandi and Danny were just little tots and one year on the first day of spring, I said to them "do you know what today is? Its the first day of spring." So they immediately ran into their room and came out a few minutes later dressed in shorts and tank tops! Kids!

Baby Jonathan

Today in Relief Society Ame Lowe Payan came in and sat down next to me right after the teacher started her lesson on "Jesus Christ..." based on Elder Holland's October conference talk. Well, the first thing Ame asked me was if I wanted to hold him (her baby). Did she really need to ask? Anyway, I was holding him and he smiled faintly at me and I rocked him to sleep. As part of her lesson, Barbara Turner asked me to stand up and show Jonathan to everyone. And of course everyone was sighing. He's so beautiful! and it was very sweet to hold him. He was born on October 22nd.

1992

Hey Mandi, thought you might like to take a walk down memory lane with me. After our Sunday performance of Sing Noel, I dug out the program from the very first Sing Noel in 1992 and was looking through it and came across the listing of Young Women. Guess who was in that group? Mandi Heffner, Ame Lowe, Sariah Smithson and several other young women from the stake! I had totally forgotten they sang! I showed it to dad and he was surprised that he didn't remember, too.

Danny's birthday

Yesterday was Danny's birthday. You may have noticed that I call my children right around the time they were born (for some reason Mandi doesn't want us to do that). Well, when I called Danny, it was 1:05pm and he picked up with "You're late. You missed it by half an hour." Then I reminded him that in California it was only 1:05 and he conceded that I was right, since he was born in California at 1:23pm. Anyway, I love you, Danny and hope you had a very nice day.

Sing Noel

Our performance went really well last night. We started off very powerfully and continued on through all our songs. I thought the last song didn't go as well as we planned. I'm sure Melodie (our conductor) will let us know all about it on Sunday for our last performance.

Most expensive cheesecake

Dad and I went out to dinner at a relatively new restaurant in Paso last night, Cool Hand Luke's. We had a very delicious dinner (steak!), the soup was chicken enchilada-really tasty and spicy. When our server came at the end to ask us about dessert, we said we'll take the cheesecake to go. Then in a little while she brought our check. I picked it up to look it over and noticed the cheesecake was priced at $35! I showed it to Kevin and wondered if our server thought we wanted a whole cheesecake. So Dad got her attention and she laughed when we showed her the check and said something about her fingers making a mistake. She brought the take-out box of cheesecake and the revised check, saying that the cheesecake would be on her. What a great place to eat! Dad says its better than AJ Spurs! I never thought that would happen. They have delicious steaks also.

Heater!

You will all be happy to know that, after 23 years of wood-burning stove and a wall heater, we now have central heat/AC! Dad worked on it all day Saturday with the man we bought the units from. Its so lovely to get up early in the morning and be warm! Dad will have 3 more vents to install and a wall to fix (vent in the wrong place in the upstairs bathroom). Thank you, Kevin!

Never again

Remind me to never do that again! Now I remember why I don't like working late. There were four cashiers and not enough customers to go around. One of the cashiers was reading a magazine! They probably could have gotten along without me last night.

The End

Guess what?! Today is the last day of November! Man, finally the pressure is off to come up with something every day! Thank goodness! Anyway, its been lots of fun and mind-stretching. Wow! Today I'm doing something different. I was at my register when my manager (Anita) came up behind me and was talking on the phone. I heard her say that she would be short a closing cashier. The idea came to me that I could work a split shift. So after I clocked out and went out to my car, I called her on the phone (She said Where are you?) and told her about my idea. So after I ate my Friday lunch (Tuna melt at Subway) I drove home. I even got to take a nap! Yeah! So I'll be going back to work in a little while and working til 11:30.

Cute sayings

Remember when Cody used to say "lickish" for licorice and "there's a McDonald's if you're hungry". Another cute thing he started saying on that vacation to Canada was "road instruction" for road construction. I wrote down all those cute things--I'll have to get out his book and my journal to let you know about other sayings. So cute!!

Step Class

One time when I was having a prenatal checkup with my doctor, Dr. Segal, he was talking with his nurse about the step class he took earlier that day (I was pregnant with Danny). I told him I would never take a step class. Fast forward 29 years and here I am going to step classes at least twice a week. And I love 'em!

Memories

One of my sweetest memories is of reading books to my children. When Mandi and Danny were still just little ones (Danny was still in a crib), they would come into my room in the morning with a whole stack of books and I would read to them until Danny said "Time get up". I also really enjoyed reading "The Little House on the Prairie" series to Kyra and Cody.

coincidence

Mandi, do you want to hear something funny? Dad and I watched "Timeline" on Thanksgiving night! I was talking to Cody on Friday and he told me you were all watching it there at your house. You have to finish watching it! Love you!

Nice Customer

I have to tell you about this customer who came through my line last week. She was in a wheelchair and accompanied by another lady. The first thing she asked me in a sweet southern accent was if the customers were treating me nice. Then I asked her where she was from because she had an accent. Then she asked me "Oh, do I have an accent?" She admitted she was from Texas. Then when we were done with the transaction, she said something to the effect that she hoped all the customers would treat me right. She was so sweet!
Today a friend came through my line and with her was that sweet Southern lady in her wheelchair and I said I recognize you! My friend then introduced me to her mother, June. So I had to tell Gabby (my friend) how sweet her mother was to me last week. What a daymaker!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Lana invited Dad and me to join them for dinner today. I made a green bean casserole (used fresh beans) and rolls using the dough cycle on the bread machine. They were funny-looking but they tasted very good. The turkey was moist and delicious! We had a very nice time. Thank you for all the delicious food.

Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Kyra's birthday

Ooops! I almost forgot to post! anyway just wanted to let you know that today is Kyra's birthday! I can't believe its been 23 years! What a joy she has been in my life. Thank you for being my daughter and for all your love. "Are ya happy?" I love you, Kyra.

Sing Noel

Since September I've been singing every Sunday night with our Sing Noel choir in preparation for our performance December 7 and 9th. We're coming along so well that Melodie Kunz (our director) is letting us have Sunday off. I'm really enjoying singing but I will sure be glad when its all over.

pet peeve

So this is my pet peeve--people coming up to my register talking on the phone through the whole transaction. Please, if you are buying things, hang up your phone! Thank you.

Visit from kids

Yesterday while I was busy cashiering at Wal-Mart, I heard "Hi Aunt Kathy!" I looked up and there was Colby and Kiyanah. Just to jog your memory, Colby is Richard Goodwin's son and Kiyanah is Joanna's daughter. They were going through someone else's line and came over to greet me. It was so sweet!

Raking

I'm out raking again (good exercise!) and the fog is so heavy its almost raining.

Autumn in Paso Robles

Here's why we'll never live permanently in Salt Lake. Its now 6:30pm, halfway through November, full-on dark and dad is sitting outside on the patio! Its about 65 degrees. The sun shone all day today and it was very warm, maybe 80! What a beautiful day!

work

I'm going to be like Susie (Mandi's friend from a long time ago) and blog every day this month. I get back to my register after lunch and there is a note that I'm to go to Pharmacy. I've worked there a few times and I guess they were pretty desperate to ask for a cashier from the front. The line was about 10 deep when I got there about 3:30 this afternoon and stayed that way until 6:30. I clocked out at 7pm.

Lost Lens

So I get up this morning and the first thing I do is put in my lenses, right? I get the right one in and open the case for the left and its not there. Ack! I look all over, the floor, the vanity, the towel and even take the drain apart but its nowhere to be found. I have to resort to my old pair of lenses. They aren't as good. Well, now I'll have to call my doctor for a replacement lens.

Saturday

After we got the leaves cleaned up, I helped Dad move the new water heater into place. Man was it heavy! While I was watching him adjust the straps that hold it in place and make it earthquake safe, he commented, "Well, at least you weren't pregnant." That's a blog for another time. Thank you, Kevin for replacing our water heater! Its so nice to be able to take a shower in our own home. I especially appreciate it when I'm washing my face at night. Kevin, you are the greatest!

Autumn Leaves

All I had to say was I wanted to rake up the leaves and Kevin said we'll do it together. So we got started and swept up the patio and apron and raked the lawn. It looks really nice. That was about a half hour ago and I just noticed two leaves have already fallen from the tree! We managed to get it done without Cody. I really miss you, Toad!

Kyra

One day while I was nursing Cody, he bit me! So I slapped him. Kyra (probably about 5 years old) was right there and cried, "Don't hurt the baby, Mommy!" Well, then I explained how much it hurt when he bit me. He never bit me again. Kyra has always been very sensitive and caring.

Pictures

On Sunday I had Dad take a great picture of me.

I also took pictures of the new shower curtains in the apartment....just waiting and ready for anyone who might come to visit.....

Cody

Just to make sure no one feels left out, I just remembered something cute Cody said (there have been lots of cute things!). One day I was playing my Beatles cd and the song was "8 Days a Week" and he said "Why are they singing a song about 8 days a week? There were only 7 days in the week." I'm not sure how old he was.

Danny

Here's one about Danny that will live forever in my memory. He was about 5 or 6 and one of the phrases I used when he was being his usual mischievous self was, "You're cruisin' for a bruisin'. One day he looked at me with his sad, puppy dog eyes and asked so innocently, "Am I cruisin' for a bruising?" It was all I could do to answer him without breaking out into laughter.

Mandi

So you all get to read and hear about Mandi's kids sayings and doings--well, I thought I should post something about Mandi when she was a little girl. She used to call her Grandma Helen "Mama Ha" and Grandpa Ray was "Papa Way".

One time when we were driving down Spring Street, we passed the local aggie store which had a life-sized statue of a horse high up on a post. She saw that and exclaimed "Horsie can't get down!".

I've got a million cute things she said and did (that's just an exaggeration).

Rachel

What I really like about Rachel and what made the trip worth driving for 12 hours is when she turns to me with the sweetest smile on her face, and says I love you, Grandma!

Sarcasm

I have to tell you about Mitchell. One morning when I was at Mandi's getting ready to go to Kyra and Brad's, Austin asked me if I wanted to watch Mitchell play his X-box. Very sarcastically, I replied that I was just dying to do that. Mitchell asked me very innocently, "Is that sarcastic, Grandma?" So I told him its all in the tone of voice, after agreeing with him. What cute kids!!

curtain

Mandi, you will be delighted to know that I hung a new shower curtain in the garage apartment bathroom. Its clear with brown and tan sand dollars and shells on it. It looks so much better than just the plain liner. xoxo mom

Singing with the Angels

Saturday was our Stake Temple day commemorating the 50th anniversary of the LA Temple dedication. Pres Andrus liked to call it a Jubilee. I'm in the choir and we opted to sing two hymns from the hymnbook to open the chapel session and "This is the Christ" by James E. Faust. We had a little trouble during rehearsal because we were intimidated by the size of the room. Bigger than a football field!! When it came time to sing for the session, we really belted it out. It turned out beautiful. I felt such a wonderful feeling! After every verse our conductor had to pause for a second to wait for the echo. That is really awesome! I felt like I was part of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It was a really beautiful experience!

Cashiering

I ask all you nerds with nothing else to do to comment on this situation--I'm finishing a transaction with Customer #1. Customer #2 comes into view with something in his hand to purchase and cust #1 waves him over to her, effectively motioning him to cut in line in front of other customers who are patiently waiting and putting their purchases on the conveyor belt. Should I ring up cust #2 or should I ask him to take his place at the end of the line? What would you do?

Washing the Car

While I'm washing my car last Monday, I notice the passenger side mirror's paint is scraped off a little. I think to myself, 'Somebody scraped my mirror'. Then I look at the garage door jamb and sure enough the paint is scraped off there too. I know I didn't do it. Ok, guilty party, 'fess up.

Chocolate Chip cookies

I was preparing to bake chocolate chip cookies. (I know, Cody, two batches in less than a month!) I got out the butter and set the microwave to "defrost" to soften it up. Meanwhile, I went upstairs to see if there was anything interesting online or on someone's blog. When I went to get the butter out of the microwave, it was almost totally melted. So I go back to the computer to let it cool off. A little while later and I check the butter and its almost totally resolidified! I proceed to mix up the dough and while I was beating it, I noticed that it was very fluffy! After baking, I taste-tested one and it wasn't any different. The melted butter just made it easier to mix. And that's all I have to say about that except I think I like cc cookies with milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet chips.

Hot Water Heater

So I'm trying to wash the dishes on Sunday after baking chocolate chip cookies (yummy) and I'm not getting any hot water. I finish cleaning up with the cold water and tell Kevin that we don't have any hot water. The next morning while we're talking on the phone he reminds me that the garage apartment door is unlocked so I can use that shower. Its kind of inconvenient because then I have to remember to take everything over there so my getting-ready time is longer. Oh well. Now he has to replace the house water heater! This is my life.

Born today 1913

Today is my mother's birthday. I'll let you do the math. I almost started crying at work thinking of how much I miss her and wish she were here to ask her questions. She was a very great lady.

Guess Who?

After reading Dad's blog, I've been thinking about starting my own. It probably won't be as cute as my daughter Mandi's, cause she has the cutest kids in the world! And they do and say the cutest things! But once in awhile I might have something to say that would interest all of you out there in bloggerland. So back to Mandi's kids--the other day when I was babysitting them (that's what Grandma's do when they go on vacation), Austin (5) was outside playing with his friend and he suddenly came running in the house. "There's a storm coming so I let the dog in the house." Now how many 5-year-olds do you hear say that, there's a storm coming? After I told him to put the dog back outside, it started pouring! Of course, I knew it was going to rain but Austin was so right on.