Rhythms of My Heart

Hey! Download This! SIDESHOW @ itunes or applications on iphone

2009-04-20T11:58:00.000-06:00

John, my second son, has been selected by who knows who but anyway he has been selected to do applications for iphone and ipods. His first app is entitled, Sideshow! Way cool, people. Way cool, people. So . . . if you have an iphone/ipod or both, please download and write a review (5 Stars would be way cool, too.) Thanks!!!!!!
Sideshow is the name!
(John is working on some more way cool apps, too!)

K Update

2009-04-12T15:06:00.004-06:00

On the cusp of cornea transplants. If I can wear contacts successfully until the summer of 2010, I will be excellent candidate for cornea ring treatment. This treatment is now approved by FDA and has had much success in Europe. Contacts will decide for me: I and the doctors do not know if I will tolerate contacts. I will fit a pair, fit another pair, another pair and another pair as my corneas adjust and hopefully take a less cone shape.

Great Easter fun! Ivy and Eliza beautiful in Easter finery! Hyper in candy digestion.

It's Official (Keratoconus)

2009-04-06T09:48:00.000-06:00

It is now official: I am in the advanced stages of Keratoconus. I will begin treatment (lenses made especially for each eye) on Wednesday. I do not know when my transplants will be. The transplants cannot restore the eyesight I have lost but will prevent further complications (I hope!) Anyway, Keratoconus explains my hating lights on and other sight difficulties through the past 30 years. I am happy I went in to see about laser! Tender mercies surround me every day.

http://www.helpkeratoconus.com/contact-lenses-keratoconus.htm

2008-10-27T17:59:00.000-06:00

Ivy's Halloween

Paige created this costume! Such talent!

2008-09-19T16:33:00.003-06:00

My Hymn

Court plays the piano so beautifully - especially from our hymn book. Our neighbors to the north stopped me one evening to tell me how much they enjoy hearing Court play. I don't play I browse mostly. The sentiments of the hymns are truly a prayer. While browsing munching on chips, I found my own special hymn. The title first caught my eye and the repeated refrain touched me, too. I have other hymns that touch me, too, but never in quite the way this hymn does. Oh, you want the title? Lean on My Ample Arm.

2008-09-07T07:48:00.000-06:00

Wasn't There BUT Read About It This Morning.

I was trying all my Super Nanny knowledge out on Miss Ivy and Miss Eliza from 10 a.m. Saturday to about 6:30 p.m. Read about game on iPhone and then in newspaper. So grateful I can read and BYU skunked Washington!

2008-09-02T22:38:00.000-06:00

Those Numbers . . . Again.

10 students not reading on grade level - 3.1.

6 of those students read at 1st grade level - 1.0.

We will be doing readin' and math - all day, every day!

2008-09-01T11:41:00.004-06:00

Vacuuming on a Rainy Day

An early lesson of living in the damp Pacific Northwest is the carpet standing on end after vacuuming. The justenoughmoisture does this to carpet. My vacuum is out and ready to go. After a visit to school and a dinner date with Michele. The sunflower? My son John's gift to me after my first onery week of school. The kids aren't onery - no not at all. Just the same day rising, the routine of being depended upon to leave footprints in the lives of thirty kids. The sunflowers are delightful. Oh, John vacuumed the whole house, too.

2008-08-23T23:10:00.002-06:00

Will We Ever Laugh Together Again?

My friend, Michele, called me early Saturday morning. "Margo, I have some very sad news to tell you." I thought it must be one of her eight children or one of her grandchildren. "My brother Lansing and his son, Dallin, were killed in a plane crash in Moab last night." Michele shared with me what she knew of the accident. I thought of her parents who are in their eighties. How horribly sad for them to lose a son and a grandson. I thought of Lansing's wife and remaining three children. How sad. My faith comforts me that the ten people who lost their lives are just fine. My head tells me this is a tragedy I cannot understand. Michele flew to Arizona to be with her parents. I felt numb going through my Saturday. I called Gavin who is visiting Sesame Place with Jamie and their three children. I told him I loved him. I told my daughters how much I loved them. Ivy and Eliza were hugged so tightly today. I am thinking of what Apostle Dallin Oaks taught us in conference long ago, "Christ lived to die so we could die to live."

2008-08-19T18:28:00.002-06:00

Pray, Please.

This is a blog author I love to read - http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ - please pray for Stephanie, Christian, and their four small children.

2008-08-14T15:14:00.000-06:00

Worried.

I googled signs of Alzheimers. So far, I fit sign #7.

7. Misplacing things. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may put things in unusual places: an iron in the freezer or a wristwatch in the sugar bowl.

What's normal? Misplacing keys or a wallet temporarily.

Well, what about placing the tv control in the telephone holder? Should I worry?

Also, I do think Michael Phelps is cool but his mom is cooler - she's a little chunky like me. There.

I said it.

2008-08-12T21:41:00.001-06:00

30. And Holding.

A student is moving. Thirty is a nice number I told my principal. I hope she agrees with me. Her eye brows went up. I wonder what it means when a person's eyebrows are raised?

2008-08-11T22:47:00.002-06:00

Okay. Please forgive me, but . . .

2008-08-10T12:16:00.000-06:00

A Happy Laugh. This Beautiful Sabbath.

2008-08-09T20:54:00.000-06:00

Stress Does THIS to Me.

2008-08-08T19:06:00.005-06:00

31. And holding.

Want gross? Read the blog entry I found while looking for the pic of the above desk at the end of my blog. Talk about gross. Makes my millipede, centipede I almost peed story s.t.u.p.i.d.

If you haven't already guessed, yep, I have 31 students and 31 desks in my room!

I got my school-is-beginning pedicure and manicure. I just love this guy - Phan - he massages feet, legs, arms, hands til I think they are going to fall off. I have super thick nails and he was cutting my nails and one nail stuck onto Phan's shirt. Phan is massaging my limbs off I am fixated on my nail embedded into his white Polo shirt. I hope my fingernail doesn't drift into his food or when he hugs his adorable little girl what if MY NAIL sticks into her eye? Oh, worrying me.

I am taking Tylenol P.M. tonight.

If I don't, I will be awake worrying about this nail ALL NIGHT LONG.

Okay. THE PROMISED Stalking blog. From a teacher in Bakersfield, California.

3. I've never seen so many cockroaches and spiders. One crawled out of my pencil sharpener at school the other day. Another one was in my student's desk. My Strong's Concordance has come in handy for killing the ones I find in my room.

2008-08-07T22:43:00.001-06:00

We paid $75 and sprayed 10 gallons of I-don't-know-what to
walk into the kitchen this morning to be greeted by a HUMONGUS milipede, centipede I almost peed. I sprayed 1 gallon of some kind of bathroom cleaner - no I didn't pee - on the thing. You trespass on my real estate and you are dead! Let it be written. Let it be known. (Just the bug world.)

2008-08-05T18:53:00.004-06:00

Could Be Me

Before school starts I don't worry about what I wear and things like that - well, like how bad my body odor is on a rather warm, humid day after tending grand daughters that spit up and chuck up and poop sideways out of their Huggies. So I had to run an errand to the school and of course, my principal and co-teacher are there, also. They give me TIGHT hugs. The sweat squeezes out my pores and runs down my arms and spurts in between my breasts.

So? I know I stink. Real bad.

Reminds me of a teacher I know that has really bad B.O. When she is ripe she is really ripe. One day I noticed that someone had placed deodorant in her mail box.

Will tomorrow be my day?

2008-08-04T23:15:00.000-06:00

Comic Relief.

Schools pretty much in full swing for me. I have 30 students. That means 30 of everything begins - in alphabetical order. My principal said that our grade level's end of year test scores were the highest she has ever seen since becoming principal. We tested on the computer every subject, too. I credit our PLC's and our curriculum essentials. We did intervention throughout the year in every subject, also. My resource kids pulled their share of good scores: nothing was below an 80 for them! Well, anyway, I was on my school computer and came across this cartoon. I have a fish story to write that goes with this cartoon. That will have to come later.

2008-07-31T23:27:00.000-06:00

August 1.

Payday.

Bill day.

Barnes and Noble day.

Mi Ranchito day.

New one: fill car day.

2008-07-30T22:24:00.000-06:00

What Does This Mean?

Visited my classroom today. Quiet. Clean. Rather lonely. The deal is that after the cleaning this summer there are 18 desks instead of the usual 30. Hmmm. I wonder if this means I will have 18 students. Not 30. People, please slap me. I am daydreaming on the job. Slap. Slap. Slap.

2008-07-29T22:27:00.000-06:00

Go Towards the Light!

That was my mantra last evening and today shouted to the pesky fly dive-bombing my food, my hair, and my face. A roll of paper towels traveled with me for two days. I whisked off quilted squares to cover my drink, my food, my utensils, and my face (when I snoozed during Bill O'Reilly - you gotta heart O'Reilly!) Anyways, late this afternoon as the laundry room was drowning in the Western sun, Mr. Pesky Fly flew under the wood blinds towards the light in said room. I slammed those blinds closed faster than you can say "white on rice!" Then I slammed the laundry room's door. For celebration of peace of mind, I drove to Barnes and Noble for a browsation. When I returned, no Mr. Pesky Fly for the rest of the day and evening. He found the Light and I found how handy paper towels really can be.

2008-07-28T22:53:00.002-06:00

Real Life.

I count my blessings, but the truth is is that I struggle. As I browse and read blogs (not a good way to spend time, I conclude), my life and parenting and family seemingly fall so short of everyone else's. I have no way of knowing the real life struggles of others because the blogs I read are celebrating the goodness of life. This entry, then, is real life - my real life has hurts, roads best left untraveled, children who stray, words falling short, words that are short, financial struggles, physical struggles, spiritual yearnings, my real life is real . . . ly hard some of the time. How is your real life? Really.

2008-07-27T23:06:00.005-06:00

Blessings Beyond Joy.

Eliza Paige given a name and blessing by her father.

Gavin ordained a High Priest by his father-in-law.

2008-07-26T22:22:00.000-06:00

Nothing.

and no one is more important than your own family. Life's lessons have taught me thus. Let it be written. Let it be known.

2008-07-25T23:22:00.000-06:00

Flight.

Gavin arrived from New York late this afternoon. I was browsing Target with Paige and Eliza when I received his phone call. Such a long day for Gavin and Jamie - both of them waiting. Gavin called Jamie from New York - Long Island airport - informing her that Southwest had received a bomb threat. His flight was cancelled and the airport shut down. The next phone call informed Jamie that a flight to Chicago may or may not allow Gavin to meet his conncection to Salt Lake International. What happened is that Gavin got to Chicago and missed Las Vegas. A later flight to Las Vegas was met and Gavin arrived early evening. The miracle of flight. Compare the men who tried and at last succeeded in flight to the person who phoned the bomb threat. What propels good and bad in people? While I don't believe PASSION is the do all end all, I do believe that children, men and women who find their passions and pursue their passions, contribute to society. I tell my students to find their bliss and to live their bliss. Of course, being responsible citizens and family members must be integral to the bliss - otherwise, all his selfish. If one notices the news, most of the protesters in whatever country, are youthful. Many are in countries where employment is low, education is not important. In their desires to belong, they join gangs, protesters, out laws. They make bomb threats at 4:30 a.m. on a summer morning.

2008-07-24T23:01:00.000-06:00

Pioneers.

To be quite honest here - there are many men and women I want to meet in the afterlife. Writers, statesmen, Father Adam, Mother Eve, my Savior, my Heavenly Father, and the Pioneers. I have questions for them and about them just as I have questions for the others, too. I will thank them for their fortitude and commitment to preserve the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ for me. I remember when I worked at the State Capitol Building that I would peer out among the avenues from the 4th floor windows. Trees. So many trees. I would think of the Pioneers planting those trees. The trees were my roots to the Pioneers of 1847.

2008-07-23T21:43:00.000-06:00

My Bad.

Let It Be Written. Let It Be Known.

Chili's Chocolate Molten Lava.

2008-07-22T19:54:00.000-06:00

UNDERWEAR CREATIVITY.

Enough Said.

Gardendale, Alabama, Walmart while she was going to the Flea market.

2008-07-21T14:52:00.009-06:00

Early American Art Show (kind of).

Okay. Let's talk eating extra fiber toast while doing this. People, let's talk Bringing Home Baby on The Learning Channel mornings: 9 a. m.

Today's show was about bringing home the baby of a single mom visiting from Africa. The fact she lives right now with her mother and a single sister who lives in said house with her boyfriend (said single sister has twin four year olds not fathered by boyfriend) did not put me off at all. No. The family's genealogy did not stump me. But I am watching Bringing Home Baby and I had to do a double take because those four year old twins had scribbled with black crayon ON EVERY WALL IN THAT HOUSE. I quit focusing on the Baby Brought Home. My eyes fused to the early American artwork covering every room's walls.

Up, down, sideways, circles, dots, squares, a mishmash of black. Did I do wrong with my five kids? Did my Baby Brought Home lack for crayoned wall art? Did my kids lack for creative development because a whack on the bottom was their just dues for scribbling Early American art on the walls?

All right. When these reality shows enter the homes of Americans - homes like yours, homes like mine - there is a sneaky interest in the home's decor, a sneaky interest in household pets (kicked off family bed because now it is about the BABY), and sneaky interest in foods consumed. Today's show had it all, folks: a gold fish as a dining table center piece (WAIT! maybe not, maybe that was HOUSE HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL,) but the chopping, steaming of vegetables did propel my not shrinking too fast self to grab a handful of M and M's.

H. o. w. e. v. e. r. it is the twin's Early American wall art that sucked my eyeballs like the credit union's money tubes. Good grief, every wall. Every. single. wall.

2008-07-20T16:51:00.000-06:00

Blessed.

I never imagined grandchildren. In the rush and times of raising my own five, other than praying for good mates for my sons and daughters, I never imagined grandchildren. I am seriously blessed! Ivy is resting on my couch right now, "Grammy, your house is soft!" I am not sure what she means. I think maybe she is thinking about my heart - soft with love and thanksgiving for my grandchildren. For their mothers. I am Blessed. Truly. Seriously. Thanks for listenin'!

Playing Zimbo with Braden.

Great organizational thinking for a six year old!

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you!

Sweet Miss Ellie.

I AM SO BLESSED!

2008-07-19T22:52:00.007-06:00

Being. Committed.

I like married couples that keep commitments. I admire men and women who "sail" through all kinds of weather in their marriages. On some level, within their psyche, these married couples respect one another and support one another. Commitment sheaves many components: honor, loyalty, and knowledge. I am thinking this evening about knowledge. Having an innate understanding of each other's talents is paramount in relationships. Of course, commitment gives wings to a mate's talents. Beyond encouraging talents to flourish, wise companionship and commitment are copilots, too. I enjoy observing couples - particularly - young married couples make financial decisions.

Early in my married life, I observed, from a distance, friends of ours make financial decisions. They, too, were attending medical school. They purchased a house in a working class part of Washington, D.C. I didn't like their house at all. My friend told me tales of mice and roaches invading their attic, kitchen, and bathroom. I was shocked when this young wife and mother invited my husband and I to a party asking me to bring our card table. The card table's legs, she explained, could be placed in pans of water so the cockroaches couldn't climb into the food dishes! Within six months, they had a new kitchen, a new bathroom, and cleared the attic of mice. The cockroaches were cleared out, too. (Before we graduated from medical school, Shauna and Val's house tripled in worth because the Metro was expanded within a block of their property. They were told this would happen and they were willing to make the sacrifice to reap the financial reward.) In the second year of med school, they called us drooling with excitement because they had purchased a "new" car, we invited them over to share their purchase. The car was really a junker of sorts but newer than their "old" car. Shauna raved to me, "It's new to us!"

Our journey was one of pride. We purchased a townhouse in a new housing division. The year of medical school graduation we purchased a new car - make and model for that year. We sold our townhouse for a little less than our purchase. We made our car payments just fine. Throughout our marriage, we were always car poor. Add to that - house poor. My husband had the ability to make a fine living but we did not utilize our financial knowledge or make commitments regarding our financial success.

Shauna and Val retired with a secure financial future. They helped eight children through college, missions, and marriages. They have family vacations - I am talking cruises, camping, Disney World, and any other vacation a family could dream. They have no financial debt. Their financial knowledge and commitment to their future sanctified their marriage vows. Fortunately, they both not only read from the same financial page but followed the same drummer.

I knew we were making unwise financial decisions. I had knowledge of how to build a secure financial future. I did not pursue conversations and planning that revealed my commitment to my husband. Commitment is a verb - an action verb. Marriages - happy and successful marriages - take financial actions for their future lives together. Having a husband with innate earning ability is not enough. Patience and fugalness are the true components of financial commitment in a marriage. Marriages without this type of commitment bite off more than they can eventually pay. They rob themselves - denying to one another - the journey of working for a secure financial future . . . together.

I signed off and decided to sign back on. I think I want my friends to know and to have faith that there is a future. In the daily rumble, please, please do not loose sight of a future. The future is made of stars, the moon, and the sun, but you and your companion will live the seconds, minutes, and hours - however you commit - together.

2008-07-18T23:08:00.001-06:00

Confession.

I know why Americans have a problem with gaining weight: Rachael Ray, Take Home Chef, Martha Stewart, etc., etc., etc. These cooking shows drive me bananas. No. Wait. Excuse me. NOT bananas! I am talking steak with salmon. I am talking creme la chocolat mousse. I am talking food I cannot pronounce but my stomach wants to meet. Watching these shows is anything but passive for me. I can hardly contain my hunger. I have to, have to, have to wander into my kitchen to see what is available during commercials. Like popcorn topped with M & M's.

I have to confess that I fantasize Take Home Chef meeting up with me in Macy's: in the cereal isle. I wouldn't admit I shop the cereal isle because, well, sometimes cereal is the MAIN DISH-A-ROO at our house. No. No. I would just act coy. I would tell him I was shopping for a romantic dinner for my boyfriend and me. Take Home Chef will make the most scrupdelicious meal ever! When it comes time for my boyfriend to show up, I'll just tell the Chef that said boyfriend came down with the chicken pox and sends his sincere regrets. Take Home Chef says, "No problem!" Then he sits with me. To eat. To talk. To make yet another meal date! Oh, how I dare to dream.

Anyway, back to reality. I swear I gain weight watching these shows. Physically eating doesn't even have to happen. Those darn cooking shows. I wonder if I could lose weight watching those exercise shows. Sitting on my couch. Eating popcorn sprinkled with M and M's. I wonder.

2008-07-17T20:14:00.000-06:00

Freeway Driving.

zoom. zoom. zoom.

2008-07-16T22:12:00.000-06:00

Hats Off to Utah State Department of Education

Our conference room was warmer today - MUCH warmer, thank you for asking. Fortunately, my friend, Jill, and I sat by a fan. If not for the fan, I would have stripped to my undies and dove into the Sheraton pool at each break. Today we complained about the heat and yesterday about the cold. Fickle teachers!

The Literacy Coach training has been helpful, well-presented. The Utah State Department of Education offers fantastic training for Utah's teachers. I have been a part of Reading First training for five years now. The Office of Education stays in the know and in the now for what is current best practice and researched-base success for students and teachers. I have amazing teacher friends from every county in the State of Utah as a result of our training. We arrive from different cities, different schools, different backgrounds but we all have the commonality of loving what we do - teaching students and training teachers. We laugh. We cry. We complain. We rejoice. We support. We grow.

Another tidbit about our training this week has been the Sheraton luncheons - mama mea! Yummy! Yesterday was chicken with rice and fresh asparagus. Oh, HUGE chocolate pie. Today was steak salad with HUGE lemon pie. The rolls are to die for. Jill and I hope our table isn't full so we can eat the extra rolls. So far, so good!

Timely training. Delicious food. Wonderful friends. The room temperature needs a little regulating but when you sit in a room of females with average ages between 45 - 65, one should expect wacky temperatures - if you get what I mean.

2008-07-15T18:41:00.004-06:00

Deep Freeze Coaching

The literacy coaching institute in Salt Lake is excellent, my friends. There is one draw back, however. The conference room at the Sheraton is cooled to a deep freeze temperature. The complaints about the cold room commenced before the trainer spoke her first words. The person in charge commented that she always dresses warm for conferences because of the air conditioning. Shortly after her announcement, a lady at our table went to her car. She came back bulked up by three HUGE quilts. The quilts were heavy duty. I elected to listen from the hallway. My finger tips were so cold I could no longer take notes. Another person in charge tried to convince me that the right side of the room was actually warmer than the left side where my table sat. Lunch wasn't iceberg lettuce but they served lunch in another conference room that was warmer. Then I sat in my 130 degree car for about 30 minutes. The warmth of that car never felt so good. Normal temperature people would succumb to death in that car. When I emerged my new found freezer friends informed me my face was flushed. The hotel management turned the cooler down for the afternoon training. With my brain unnumbed I had a flashback to my summer of being 14 when I worked at the Dipsy Doodle. My friend, Valerie, and I created whopping hot fudge Sundays and stood in the deep freeze to indulge ourselves. We quit doing that when the owner found us one day - a wee bit huffed that Mr. Cohen owner was. We repented fast. We indulged ourselves in the kitchen where loyal, responsible workers should indulge anyway.

2008-07-14T22:27:00.003-06:00

Courtney Studies Blood Drawing While I Study Journalism,

Hobos, and the Great Depression.

Courtney took a class to learn how to draw blood in Salt Lake from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. I drove her up to Salt Lake. I decided to take in a movie, Kitt Kittredge. This is a well-produced film. I learned about journalism, hobos during the Great Depression, and the effects the Great Depression had on people - physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. The film has humor, drama, and life lessons. Rated G. After the movie, I dropped into a Barnes and Noble. I found a perfect book for my 3rd grade geography lessons! Thanks, Court! I had a great 6 hours in Salt Lake City. I found a gas station that had gas for $4.05 compared to the $4.15 in other stations. Steal. The downer is that it is now about 11 p.m. and I drive up to Salt Lake for a Literacy Coaching class at 8:00 a.m. Bummer. : (

2008-07-13T20:26:00.007-06:00

Getting to Know You . . . Getting to Know All About You . . .

Ellie

b. January, 2008

Long Island, New York

I dwell in Possibility -

A fairer House than Prose -

More numerous of Windows -

Superior - for Doors -

Of Chambers as the Cedars -

Impregnable of Eye -

And for an Everlasting Roof

The Gambrels of the Sky -

Of Visitors - the fairest -

For Occupation - This -

The spreading wide my narrow Hands

To gather Paradise -

E. Dickinson

2008-07-12T12:21:00.001-06:00

I seldom do this.

Seldom? I have never done this before. For those reading my blog, I urge you - in a quiet, peaceful moment - to read this blog - http://adailyscoop.blogspot.com. I am touched by the tragedy, the faith, and the beauty of Camille's life and Stephanie's journey.

2008-07-11T22:58:00.000-06:00

Love, Mom.
dearest daughter,
To day I walked with you through difficult decisions. I admire you, I respect you, I am proud of your mental and spiritual sensitivity. Through the seemingly cloud of choices, you portrayed a wife, a mother, and a daughter of God. This tulip is for you!

2008-07-11T21:58:00.000-06:00

The Joy of Cousins

2008-07-10T21:12:00.003-06:00

Summer Driving.
A young father was plowed down by a truck in Orem earlier this week. The obituary states that he had three young daughters. He survived cancer in his twenties and he was like 34 years old. The truck ran a red light. The young father was on a motorcycle. With gas prices high and sunny weather, the advent of more motorcyclists, more skate boarders, more roller blades, more bicyclists, and more walkers is apparent. I grow nervous driving. Six young bicyclists cut across my driving path tonight - on a busy four lane highway. I caution myself to drive slower, drive aware, and with a prayer.

Motorcycle accident claims Orem man

Janice Peterson - DAILY HERALD

An Orem man was killed in an early morning collision with a tractor-trailer Wednesday.

According to a press release, the driver of a tractor-trailer ran a red light at 1200 West and 800 North in Orem at approximately 8 a.m. According to police reports, one witness saw the truck moving west on 800 North, too quickly to stop for the light. David Lant, 34, did not see the approaching truck and was hit while riding his motorcycle through the intersection.

Orem police Lt. Doug Edwards said charges are pending against the 25-year-old truck driver from Lindon, whose name has not been released. The speed of the truck as it entered the intersection and other details of the accident are still under investigation.

Edwards said Lant was transported to Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, where he was pronounced dead. Edwards said he personally knew Lant through church. "He was a devoted husband and father and will be missed by all who knew him," Edwards said in a release.

Robert Cluff, Lant's boss at Minuteman Press in Orem, said Lant was a hard worker and very close to Cluff. Cluff said he came upon the scene of the accident minutes after it occurred and did not realize who had been involved.

"Something caught my eye that I recognized that motorcycle," he said.

As Cluff pulled over and approached the scene, he said he realized Lant had not been in to work, and he tried to call his cell phone. When no one answered, Cluff said he began to realize his friend may have been hurt.

"I didn't even notice (he wasn't at work) until I saw the accident, and I put two and two together," he said.

Officers at the scene told Cluff where the victim was transported, and Cluff said he called Lant's wife to meet him at the hospital. Cluff said it is a tough time for the family, who has asked him to be their spokesman. Lant, a father of three girls, was always there when he was needed.

"The shock of not having him there is frankly what we're all trying to cope with," Cluff said.

2008-07-09T18:19:00.003-06:00

Hmmm.
Moving is not fun. Growing up, by the time I graduated from high school, I had lived in 18 houses. My parents would build a home, sell a home, rent a home to live in while building another home, and live in that home, sell that home. The home I lived in during high school bordered a smooth running creek. When my parents put out the FOR SALE BY OWNER sign, my older brother pulled the sign from the earth, walked the sign to the creek. With a heave and ho, flung the sign into the creek. My brother walked back home. Told my parents what he had done. They did not sell the home until I had graduated from high school.

Post Script: One home my parents rented had the nastiest, dirtiest tub. I did not bathe for the six months we lived in that home. I would shower in the locker room at school. As much as I hated showering at school, I hated that tub worse. My brothers slept in the basement of that home. One night they were aroused from sleep by a drunk Native American from the nearby reservation. My brother threw a tennis shoe at the drunk. The guy stumbled into the coal room and crashed. In the morning, he took off. So much for rental homes of the cheap variety!

2008-07-08T17:50:00.004-06:00

Random.
la Cockaroacha in WALL.E I could be well mistaken but after having lived in the Deep South (waaaay Deep), the Washington, D.C. area, and in the St. Louis area, well, my understanding is that la Cockaroacha(s) live in groups, CAN''T BE ERADICATED,HUGE, ENORMOUS, (MAMA la Cockaroacha MATES ONCE FOR A LIFETIME OF IMPREGNATION), EVER PRO-CREATING groups. So, people, how is it that WALL.E's la cockaroacha friend is single, all alone, sans her other trillions of hundreds of thousands millions family members? Huh?
ANTS in My Pant(s)try are no more. Mr. Exterminator came to blast 10 gallons of I don't-know-what-and-don't-frankly-care to eradicate said ants. I feel some relief that ants are not squishing between my toes or please excuse me here - I don't have to sit on the toileta and watch said scout ants hunt around my tile floors for who knows what they eat off a tile floor. I guess I would like to think of myself as a true nature person: live and let live. But, after all, I pay for my house and ants cannot, repeat, cannot house here, sleep, and frolic in my home for free! No, siree! I am no sucker. (I am a wee bit worried about ants eating my body in my casket. Don't they put the casket in a cement vault before going in the ground? Would a cement vault to fit my casket cost more?) I'm going to eat some chocolate right now.
CURVES. Okay. No weight lost - actually a 1/2 pound gain BUT, WOW! like my trainer, Kristy, was so impressed that my measurements have shrunk in buttocks (dumb word), thighs, and stomach. To celebrate she rang the dinner bell even. Of course, at 5:30 a.m. no one was in the building. I did not have the heart after Kristy's burst of happiness to mention that when you are a beached whale and begin to exercise (even a wee small bit) that it might stand to reason that said whale would shrink in buttocks, thighs, and stomach. This morning was a difficult work-out so to reward my self for shrinking in buttocks, thighs, and stomach I did eat a handful of M and M's. Just a handful. A large handful. My hand was wide, wide open and my other hand had to make sure to catch the M and M's slipping from wide-open hand so free-loading ants could not breakfast on M and M's slipping to tile floor. I refused to offer them a last meal. Freeloaders!

2008-07-07T07:39:00.004-06:00

Making Right Choices in a Hard Choice World.

Gavin phoned yesterday. I know he is lonely with Jamie and the three children vacationing in Utah for the month of July. Gavin will join them for the last week of July. Jamie has missed her family and from experience, I know that the humid, hot summer climate of the New York coast is not fun with three small children in tow everywhere. A year ago, after graduation from dental school in Arizona, Gavin, Jamie, Braden and Abby moved to Long Island, New York. Gavin is doing a dental residency in pediatrics at Stony Brook University Medical Center. This past year has meant hard journeys for both Gavin and Jamie. Long hours apart. Long hours organizing daily family life in an unfamiliar environment from Phoenix, Arizona. Long hours of preparing and adjusting to their baby's arrival in January. To me, Gavin and Jamie have and are progressing through difficult times with amazing agility of faith, stamina, and joy. Gavin's phone call. He has been called to the Bishopric in their Long Island ward. This calling is a culmination of Gavin and Jamie making right choices in a hard choice world.
God Bless.

2008-07-06T06:26:00.006-06:00

Ants in My Pant(s)ry

Ants are interesting! Did you know ants have special soldiers that are larger than all the workers but which don't seem to do much, and a lot of workers go out foraging and take a hitching minima worker with them that rides on the piece of leaf they bring back to the nest with them? Is this ant taxi service? I would recommend to anybody to have a closer look at these amazing creatures. I have had a closer look. Hosing off our patio I looked down at my toes to observe 1, 000, 000 ants climbing towards my knees. Tomorrow, I am moving to Antarctica. Wait! ANTarctica?

2008-07-05T12:47:00.001-06:00

WE NOW HAVE A CAT . . . sort of.

People we now have a CAT. Roams our back patio area. This CAT requires no immediate or urgent care ever! No litter box. No high protein CAT food. Nothing. Nada. This CAT does not shed a multitude of hairs, either. Amazingly I haven't even observed CAT (heaven forbid!) trying to sneak into our house. CAT is not friendly. CAT likes her/his own space. Believe me, people, CAT CAN HAVE OWN SPACE. (Please scroll down for recent picture.)

CAT FACE SPIDER.

2008-07-04T20:47:00.000-06:00

Ivy's 4th of July Piggies!

2008-07-04T20:18:00.000-06:00

Freedom Rings!

"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."

— Frederick Douglass

My wonderful daughter-in-law, Jamie, reading to her daughter, five months old - Ellie. I am grateful my grandchildren love to read and to have books read to them. I am grateful my grandchildren's parents take the time to read to them. Forever Free!

2008-07-03T18:34:00.000-06:00

Hurry Fast. Drive Safely.
Before the month of July is past - a month of celebrating Freedom, Liberty, Men Among Men, Women Among Women - hurry fast! drive safely! - borrow or purchase HBO's John Adams.
I do humbly declare.

2008-07-02T17:07:00.000-06:00

Nightmare Before Christmas in July.

Ivy is visiting her Grammi this afternoon. We played My Pretty Ponies. We had a tea party of chocolate milk and red licorice. Then Ivy was tuckered out so she requested The Nightmare Before Christmas while she rests on the couch eating popcorn mixed with M&M's. Uncle John commented on Ivy's choice of movie - oh, well - I have heard of Christmas in July sales. Ivy has in mind Christmas in July movies. Oh, I have the bestest and brightest grandchildren on the planet.

I do.

2008-07-01T08:25:00.000-06:00

Change Stations Now.

367. That's the number of calories the fancy-Curves-Smarty-Aleck-computer tells me I burned today. Let me share with you that my exercising is noisy. I grunt and groan, and pass gas, too. I go early. A wee bit earlier than the official opening time. I go early because I just can't enjoy socializing while grunting, groaning, and whiffing belches southward. I can't philosophize about teaching, children, grandchildren, eggplant casserole, weather, jillions of ants I observed in billions of star formations plastered to our sidewalk yesterday (my neighbor informed me they were feeding.) I can only think about how many more machines before the workout is finis. Who, by the way, wrote that the journey is as important as the destination? Shoot me.

2008-06-30T18:26:00.000-06:00

Pursuit of Happiness.
Our Founding Fathers must have known that our journeys educate while building our values and character ever so much as when we reach our destinations. Thus, the word, Pursuit before, Happiness.

2008-06-29T10:55:00.000-06:00

Freedom and Illegals.

The New Colossus

Emma Lazarus

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Last May, on one of the few warm, warm days, one of my students shared their birthday celebration with the class by bringing popsicles. I usually seat myself on an outside bench, invite the kids to line up, and pass to them the treats. For some reason - heat, heatstroke, weariness from two solid weeks of state core testing - I couldn't tell you then and I sure don't know now, the students bunched in groups around me. They weren't particularly noisy or pushy. Just a bunch of 4th graders excited and anticipatory about being given a cherry,or a banana, an orange, or a root beer flavored frozen ice on a stick. In the beginning, with the first wave of huddled, sweaty bodies, I invited them to form a line. Some students attempted a line formation but then the other 25 students bunched up again and the try to form a line students were pushed out. I extended the invite one more time - and, please keep in mind - these were not loud nor obnoxious 9 and 10 year olds. My brain clicked finally that a line was not going to happen - too many kids too set on creating a circle.

Freedom and illegals - they want our freedoms, the goods resulting from our freedoms - our clean water, our flushing toilets, our dump yards, our housing, our clothes, our food, our jobs, our standard of medical care, our educational opportunities. Forming a line isn't part of their plan. They are of the circle mind. Recognizing this, my commitment is to teach and to have high expectations for this generation of students to do better, to be better. I must be a lamp lighting their pathways while helping to raise their moral, ethical, educational, and spiritual standards that they may model decency and democratic service for the next and the next and the next generations.

For a plethora of political and moral reasons, their circle will not be broken.

2008-06-28T22:48:00.000-06:00

Service.

"My sight has been failing, but my vision is improving."

Apostle David B. Haight

The Savior's model and meaning for our lives is service. From pre-existence, in our mortal state, and our post mortal existence, the Savior's supreme message is to serve one another. I have just figured this out. I think I have known this on some level or levels and thought I was serving but this summer I have come to understand and see with "new eyes" the meaning and mission of the Savior's life - and so my life, too.
I have always thought in a visceral way that Satan would not give his life to secure our eternal lives. He was too selfish, perhaps - and now the subject is dead anyway. But the Savior - "Here. Send me" - I sincerely pray each and every day of my mortal existence my response to my Heavenly Father's beckoning and our Savior's call shall be, "Here. Send me."

2008-06-27T22:04:00.000-06:00

Fun and Games . . . Everyday.

I have a s.e.r.i.o.u.s. addiction.

I play internet SET and Quiddler everyday NO MATTER WHAT!

SET is timed.

My best time is 1 minute 10 seconds.

Can you beat my time?

Internet address for these games - http://www.setgame.com.

2008-06-26T18:52:00.000-06:00

My Jewel.

Paige asked me on Sunday - knowing that she would be in her math class on Thursday morning - if I would accompany Ivy to her neighborhood play group. "Of course!"

The theme was "It's a Pirate's Life for Me." Ivy greeted me at the door in a great pirate shirt and her loverly pirate tatoos. We gathered with other kidlings at the Clubhouse. Our first adventure was making pirate hats. Ivy performed this activity in speedy time and eloquent fashion. She placed heart-shaped jewels on her skull's eyes. She dabbed other bright jewels - well, like many jewels to the front of her hat. Then about ten kidlings and nine moms and one grandma guided, chased, and scurried from pool to swing sets finding clues to the treasure. Guess what the treasure was? P.O.P.S.I.C.L.E.S!

Way, way too warm for our pirates to lick outside. So . . . we lined them up in front of the clubhouse kitchen. Ivy was the only female pirate. All the other pirates fought to sit by her - even pirates appreciate real beauty. Play group was a great success in my humble opinion. I do declare, "It's a Grammi's Life for Me!"

2008-06-25T14:27:00.000-06:00

Goose Times.

My father's father gave me a goose for Easter when I was ten years old. My grandfather knelt down by me on the just-turning green grass and slipped the soft-feathered baby from his jacket. He pulled my hand towards the baby forcing the baby to smell my hand. He covered the baby's eyes with his other hand. "He thinks you are his momma, now."

Riley I named him. Riley followed me everywhere well into my 7th grade school year. He would stand on our back porch and screech and flap and screech and flap for me to play with him. He knew the time of day when I would get home from school. He stood in the middle of the road and flapped and flapped with joy as I rounded the bend walking or by bicycle. He stood guard for me as I dropped my school books and grabbed a snack to eat. Many a day, my mom would ask me to call Riley from the road so kids could walk on by to their homes. Our German Shepherd never posed a problem when family, friends, or strangers popped into visit. Riley, however, chased them right up the road.

You're asking what became of Riley? The spring of my 7th grade year, another goose could be heard squawking in the pasture nearby. I woke one morning to find the back porch empty of my feathered pal. I could hear Riley in the pasture a hooting and a hollering with his new found female friend. My heart patters even today thinking of Riley . . . his trust, his friendship, his protection, his affection.

Goose times with Riley.

2008-06-24T12:55:00.000-06:00

Grandbaby Feeds.

The joy of summer is discovering new recipes and ACTUALLY HAVING TIME TO PREPARE THEM! This includes yummy treats for Eliza Paige. At 4 months old, she has a well-developed palate for bread sticks (the kind that come in little packets with cheese to dip into.) No. I don't dip the bread sticks into cheese - I am so much smarter than that! Also, Eliza loves, loves, loves her binky rolled in the sugar of those huge gum drops. No wonder Eliza has the bestest smiles and brightest eyes when her Grammi comes to babysit!