A rough week

January blahs have entered in full force - it's been a discouraging week where I only managed to barely survive it. Life is hard despite keeping myself super busy. Hopefully this next week will be better.

I started the week attending my Great Aunt Sherrie Misel's funeral. Oh, she was the sweetest lady ever and I love her so much! She was so happy despite struggling so badly with depression, and chronic pain. I loved to go over to her house and listen to her stories of when she was a little girl. Then we would laugh and laugh. 

She was so kind to me and let me borrow all of Great-Gma Chamberlain's recipes that she had. I am so grateful that I managed to get them all uploaded to family search. She desperately missed her sisters - especially Aunt Donna with whom she was very close. Whenever a loved one passes away I feel a bit jealous. Mortality is difficult - and I'm just hanging on for the hope that I may mange to earn an eternal reward in the heavenly choir. #celestiallifegoals

Her funeral was delightful and my sister, Amy, and I listed to each one of her daughters speak. She was one of those rare people that absolutely love everyone. One habit Aunt Sherrie had was to sneak $20 bills into your hand or pocket before you left her house. She was so generous that way. I know she is  having an absolute blast with her family right now. I only feel badly for Uncle John - her hubby that is now alone. Thank goodness he has a daughter nearby that will be his caregiver. 

I worked a lot of hours M-Th this week so that I only needed to work 2 hours on Friday. Since it was a long weekend (Martin Luther day tomorrow), it was especially nice. I forced myself to go to Spanish Fork and do some clothes shopping. I hate spending money on clothes so much, but I was able to find 2 shirts, a cardigan, and three pair of shoes! I love buying shoes at the end of January because the boots are always so cheap! The cheapest pair I got this time was $13. Hurray! I also got a pretty blue necklace, and a new turtle platform for Otis. The only problem is he doesn't like it very much. It's smaller than the last one I bought him.

Went to church choir today. We have a lively group that attends. Sadly, we are always short of men - I wish the many men that know how to sing in our ward would actually come to choir. It's annoying that they don't. Nursery was more of a challenge then we are used to. It's just taking a while for the tiny kids to get used to senior nursery. Hehehehe! It will be my turn for the lesson next week and I'm already getting nervous. Fingers crossed. 

Springville still doesn't have any snow. I think we've only had one tiny storm that left a little skiff a snow. It's such a weird winter that way. 

Over the Christmas break

I had lots of time on my hands during Christmas break this year. Truthfully, I've got to do something different during Christmas break '26 'cause I almost went completely crazy. One of the things I did do, was visit Pirate O's Gourmet Market in Draper. They have so many yummy European treats. I took Luke in December, and wanted to go back and see what they had on Christmas clearance. 

I scored! These, my friends, were the best haul of the trip. So, so yummy! Next year I need to go back and get more. 

Since I was in Salt Lake County anyway, I happily agreed to go and pick up the daughter of my bestie. Her daughter is going to BYU. We had a very lovely ride down to campus while she filled me in on the first semester of her college adventures. I loved hearing all about it, and was so thankful it wasn't me trying to navigate college classes and boys. Bwahaha! 

Our new advent calendar

January 1, 2024 - I was lucky enough to spend time with Larry ringing in the new year at his place. I now treasure every single picture we have of the two of us together. In the background of this picture you may notice a Christmas tree advent calendar.

After Larry passed away, I looked high and low for the exact calendar. I could not find it anywhere - but I found one similar. I bought it, and then put it away for a time until I could get my grief under control. 

Almost a year later, I pulled out the project and started working on it. It's intense! I think Larry would be amazed at my determination to finish it, even if it took me a long time. I am grateful this project will always remind me of Larry, and the gift we had of one holiday season together as two people who loved each other very much. 

It was a very Merry Christmas

I kept expectations low this year, so the holiday was absolutely beautiful! We did our multiple advents, ate loads of holiday treats, danced around the Christmas tree, watched The Muppets Christmas Carol, and retold the Nativity story. I don't remember a Christmas season that felt so comforting and special. I am grateful. 

Christmas morning I had to wake up the kids to come open presents. That was a first. I was so thankful to have the financial ability to buy the kids Christmas gifts.   

Stewart Falls

A dear friend and I were talking a few weeks ago about the beautiful fall weather. I was telling her how much the mountains were calling to me and I wanted to go for a hike. She is a big time hiker and she immediately said she would go with me. We went to Stewart falls. It was a little bit harder than I thought it would be, but so worth it. It took us about 3 hours round trip. 

A Christmas project

I decided to try something new this year. I'm working on this ambitious embroidery advent calendar. At the rate I'm going, I won't be done in time for Christmas. I've been juggling too many other projects as well. 

Logan trip

A month or so ago, Luke told me that he would really like to go on a road trip. I think this boy has 'wander foot', but he has been afraid to mention it because he knew how financially tight things have been. For some reason, I decided that we really should go on a trip together while Peter and Brandon were out camping. 

I was able to find a cute place to stay that cost half of what a hotel room would. It had quirks, but we were only there for one night. Luke really loved being able to pick where we went out to eat. It was fun to see him excited about making choices. 

We did a lot of reading books while we were away. It was nice. It was also nice to come home and sleep in our own beds though. I think going away makes you appreciate what you've got at home.

We decided there are a few things that we really need to be comfortable. Those items are: a bathroom in the room, two queen beds, a place in the city. Luke said he isn't a country kid like me. The bathroom smelled like 'old lady' which was nostalgic for me, and miserable for Luke. 

The last thing we did in Logan was go to the little zoo they have there called Zootah. When the boys were very little Brandon and I also took them there. Luke didn't remember anything from when they were small. We spent almost an hour there and thought it was pretty cute. We saw an emu, porcupine, fox, badger, skunk, elk, eagle, lots of ducks, and some tortoises. It was a successful trip. 

On the way home Luke said he wants to take our next trip to Daggett county. LOL. 

Utah State Fair

 A couple of ladies on the fair board made the trip up to SLC to attend the State Fair. Our goal was to see some specific ways they do things. For example: what table setups do they have, how do they manage flies and ants on the food, do they get a representative of entries from across the state? Also, how are their garbage cans spread out, how do they place visual maps, and what do their entry tags look like. We were able to see all of these things plus more. 

At one point, I had a chance to talk with some of the volunteers. Come to find out they aren't volunteers. They get paid $15/hour with shifts that last 6-8 hours long. We had a tight schedule while we were there so we weren't able to see everything. What we did see was pretty amazing things - including two ladies that were making bobbin lace. I found out they have a group that meets on Saturdays at the Provo library. I am so tempted to go.

I'm already planning to go and spend more time at next year's State fair because we didn't even have a chance to look at any of the animals. Sadness. Here is a few of the things I found most amazing.