If Time Could Be Bottled?

There never seems to be enough time in a day! You know the saying "if I had a penny everytime I ________, I would be rich." Well if pennies were little bits of time and I had a penny for every morsel of sweets I have eaten, I would have a TON of time! LOL!
Some moments I wish could be "freeze frame" and other moments don't you just wish would pass you by faster than the speed of light (mostly embarassing or uncomfortable ones).

I just mainly wish I could have been a stay at home mom all these years. Now that the two oldest have left the nest, I am feeling the regrets, the heartache, and time lost that I can never recapture. On a brighter side, we are told we will be blessed in the eternities for that which we did not fully receive here if we are but faithful, obedient, and keep our covenants.

Don't put off tomorrow what you can do today.

Honoring Grandma Marie Ida Coupe

Celebrating Grandma's 100th Birthday

Grandma's Graduation Picture

Grandma and Grandpa's Engagement Pictures

Today I attended the funeral of my dear Grandma Marie. She lived to be 101 years old. She lived a good long life and I am so happy for blessing for her and for our family. Growing up we lived 2 hours away and so we saw her probably about 4 or 5 times a year. She would always bring us candy when her and my Grandpa would come and visit us. I will miss her a lot. I will miss a lot of things about her, but I really will always remember her kindness, her love for children, and her silliness. She really was a little child at heart and she had the cutest giggle. She giggled all the time. She made the best home cooked meals and just loved family time and gathering everyone around her.

Grandma Marie attended Peru State University and received a bachelors in education. During her time at the University she became a track star and received honors and medals for her athletic abilities. My dad always joked that it was no wonder that she could always catch him when he was naughty and he would try to run away!

My Grandma met my Grandpa while a student at Peru. Shortly after they were married she taught school for a short while until they started their family.

The matriarch of our family has returned to her Heavenly home and although we will miss her so much, she is relieved of the infirmities of her body and reunited with dear ones who have since passed years before her.

Here is the eulogy written by my Aunt Joan, the only girl in a family of 4 boys.

"We are here today to celebrate the life of Marie Coupe. She lived a quiet unpretentious life, never any medals, trophies, or commendations, but she did acquire a few titles. That of wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great grandmother. Of these she was truly proud.

Her married life began during the days of the Great Depression, but she always worked hard and was ever the faithful wife in good times and bad. As mother, she somehow always had the creativeness and ingenuity to "make do" so that we always had what was needed. As grandmother, she loved to see the grandchildren every chance she got. She was lovingly know to some as Ma, Grandma, and Grandma Doodie.

Her sense of humor often showed itself in quick one-liners. She had a very even personality and rarely spoke ill of others or criticized them. She remained active until she was in her late nineties, playing bingo and pincochle, helping out in the classroom with the little ones at Sacred Heart School. Collecting Campbell soup labels was a past-time that she enjoyed because they could be redeemed for items that the school could use.

This is a just a thumbnail sketch of a great woman who will be missed more than words can tell. God granted her a long life. She made good use of that time here on earth and now we entrust her back to her Maker and the eternal rest she so richly deserves."

I love you Grandma.

I am so BEHIND

Hello everyone! It has been one of the busiest summers ever for me and I haven't made the time to blog (but you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip, can you?). Then I was reading a talk by Elder Richard G. Scott and I have realized that blogging did bring me joy and I am going to attempt to blog at least more often!

This is whatElder Richard G. Scott has said "attempt to be creative for the joy it brings. Select something you like. It engenders a spirit of gratitude. It dispels loneliness and heartache. It gives a renewal, a spark of enthusiasm, and zest for life."

I have always found creative writing to be a challenge for me, so "trying" to be creative by blogging is a good outlet for me as well as leaving a sort of genealogy or journal of sorts for my family.

Stand by for new posts soon!

Thinking Thoughts

Some days my heart yearns to write and blog and post pictures, but I haven't had any time to do it! I have a whole list of things to blog about:

1. Pictures I have had on my camera for the last 3 months.
2. The last play production at North Star.
3. Spirit week at North Star with some very funny pictures.
4. Prom.
5. Ether's open house.
6. Pictures from the Temple when Ether was endowed.
7. Our Utah trip pictures and that whole story!
8. Oh, and our family pictures when we get them back!

I hope that by the time I get around to posting these things, they will not be 6 months old!

I haven't had time to blog because of my forever long list of things to do which I try to work on after I am done working, taxiing the kids around, cooking dinner, helping with homework, and whatever else comes up in between! I get up and 5:00 and go to bed at 10:00 and I still can't get it all done.

1. Writing thank you notes for those who helped us while we were gone on our trip!
2. Call and find out where Marikita's graduaton announcements are since Graduation is 1 month away, yikes!
3. Call for a refill of Marissa's asthma med.
4. Mail invitations for Marikita's graduation party!
5. Work on the Relief Society Newsletter which is due to be handed out this Sunday? Yikes!
6. Call Verizon to cancel Ether's unlimited texting! (he paid for it) but I don't want to pay for it!
7. Call State Farm and have them take Ether off as a driver on our insurance (yay, save money)!
8. Find out why we haven't been getting a bill for our washer and dryer?
9. Try to catch up on the mountain of laundry before my kids don't have anything to wear?!!!
10. Make a menu for the month.
11. Make a new budget for May.
12. Work on a genealogy chart for Ether and mail it to him (he forgot to do it) :)
13. Plan Marikita's graduation party with food and all!
14. Get the garden planted.
15. Go through 3 weeks of mail that I have looked at, but not dealt with yet.
16. Get things ready for a garage sale!
17. Start my exercise program that I can never seem to find for!

I think of new things everyday that get added to this list, so it never ends! Always something to do!
My hearts desire if I didn't have to work........I would take better care of the house, bake more, sew, can, try new recipes, go to lunch with friends, and be free to do more service. What is that saying by Joseph Smith "range the whole world blessing all mankind".....something like that. Maybe one of these days?!!!!

Blessings to you my blogger friends! Love you all!

Nicknames

Doesn't every family have nicknames for each other? I guess I don't really remembering having any at home when I grew up, but hey, it is always nice to start a new tradition isn't it?!!!

I am a person who likes to rhyme, I don't even know why? I guess because it is fun to be silly, so that might explain why I have such silly names for my kids and my hubby.

Ether - when he was a baby I called him "pootie boy." I was walking down the sidewalk to our house carrying him when he was about 6 months old saying to him "you cutey boy, you booty boy, you know doing my rhymin thing going through the alphabet and then I said pootie boy and it stuck! He has to be in a good mood for me to call him that now!! hee hee!!

Marikita - When she was a baby I called her "choo choo". I don't even know where I got that, but that is what I called her especially when I changed her diaper I would talk to her and call her my little choo choo. As she got a little older we called her "Kietsie" and now we call her "kita" for short!

Marissa - When she was a baby I called her "choo chie". I guess I wasn't very creative and it was kind of an extension of Markitia's choo choo name! As she got a little older I started calling her "Reesie." And now we call her Reesa for short!

Gretchen - When she was a baby I called her "Gretchen Grunter" because when she was about 3 weeks old when she would wake up in the morning the first thing she would do would be to grunt. We don't know if she was stretching, pooping or what!!
Now we call her "Gretchy Lou". Her middle name is Louise if that helps to know how that fits!!

Hannah - When she was a baby I called her "Boonie." I know it sounds a lot like Ether's pootie, but that name just stuck for her too!! As she got a little older we started calling her "Hannah Banana." We still call her both of those names!

Pat - When we first got married I called him "Honey"all the time. I guess as an extension to the nickname honey bun I started calling him "Bun." It was a nickname for honey bun so I wouldn't have to say the whole thing!!!! I am sure without even thinking I have called him that in public and I am sure people have wondered about me!

Me - Sadly enough, I don't really have a nickname. Pat does call me "honey" sometimes and the kids either call me "Mom", Mommie, or Momma. BUT, before I was married (my maiden name is Coupe) I got called "Scoop" by one of my very good friends Rich, who also is a rhymer! A good friend of mine (it's a long story) used to call me "Spud Woman" and I called her Silly Millie. On my mission I was called "Scoupe" by one of the Elders short for Sister Coupe.

Happy day to all my sisters from another mister!!!

Musings!!!

When it is time for Hannah and Gretchen to go to bed, Hannah has a bedtime routine that she goes through every single night, unless for some reason she falls asleep and we put her in bed! We put them in bed and tuck them in with their covers, give them a kiss and a hug. Before I can leave Hannah's bedside or even her room this is how the conversation goes:

Hannah: Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!
Me: You too!
Hannah: Have a good dream!
Me: You too!
Hannah: Dont' have a bad dream!
Me: You either.
Hannah: Have a good night!
Me: You too!
Hannah: Don't have a bad night!
Me: You either!
Hannah: Night night!
Me: Night night!
Hannah: Love you!
Me: Love you too!

It is kind of funny and cute and sometimes it can be annoying if I am really tired and I can't wait to get into bed myself!

My Adventure After Hospital Land

I am picking puke green to tell this story because it fits well with what I have to tell you!
I got to do two fun little tests at the hospital on Wednesday which involved one end and then the other. That's all I am going to say! ha, ha, I am leaving you guessing! Anyway.....I had to start on a liquid on Tuesday which consisted of a little bit of jello, chicken broth, and apple juice! Whoppety do!! It wasn't too bad and I didn't get as hungry as I thought I would. Tuesday night I had to drink 6 glasses of some solution to help clean me out. Wednesday morning I had to drink 9 glasses of the same stuff, but this time I had to do it in 3 hours time. That went pretty well! I am thinking to myself as I am heading to the hospital that I will get to eat when all this is done! WRONG!! After my procedures I was a little woozy.....Ether drove me home. On the way home I was envisioning something tastey, something fast foodish! I decided on Burger King. I told Ether, can we stop and get me a chicken sandwich? He honored my request! I was deliriously thinking of eating that chicken sandwich when I got home, but then on the way home I started feeling sick......oh no......by the time I got home I barely made it to the bathroom. Well that was the end of the idea of eating anything. I tried 2 bites, but it came back up. I tried water, still the same result. I slept on and off all night with bathroom bouts in between ridding my body of some more fluids!

I really hate being nauseated! I would almost rather have some pain than have nausea! The funny thing is, I don't know if I was more mad that I was nauseated or that I couldn't eat! I had my heart so set on eating something, but it wasn't to be. I woke up Thursday morning and realized I was feeling pretty snappy! I have a little residue of some wooziness, but I didn't feel sick to my stomach. I tried eating a few crackers.....they stayed down! Yahoo!!! I felt like I was on the homestretch to eat! It was about time.....I finally had something to eat after 58 hours or no solid foods! I think anyone who can go without food or is forced to go without food for that long deserves a medal or something, don't ya think? So next time you have to wait to a little extra time before you can eat for whatever reason, I don't want to hear any whining!

Well needless to say, like any bad experience.....it is all a memory now!!

Pay It Forward

The first five people to respond to this post will receive something made by me to you. My choice. Made especially for you. Of coarse there are some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees you will like what I make.
2.What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done sometime this year.
4. You have no clue what it will be. It may be a story. It may be an article on how to properly clean your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something (I pity the fool who receives that...) I may bake something and mail it to you....who knows?...not you, that's for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. hee hee!!!!

The catch is you must post this on your blog, facebook, or e-mail and offer the same to the first five people who post it on their selected site!
The first five people to do so and leave a comment letting me know they did will receive a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift from me!! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it.
Happy waiting!!!!

Blogging

Yeah, I know I haven’t blogged for awhile, not because I don’t love to or want to, but because well, I took a sabbatical. Yeah, didn’t I tell you…..well I did. Life gets so busy sometimes you just need a time out and lately I have needed a lot of time outs! In case you didn’t know, time outs are not just for children!

This is going to be random, so just bear with me! Who says you can’t have ice cream for breakfast! I don’t think I have ever in my life had ice cream for breakfast, although it sounds like a really good idea! I really love Blue Bunny, Bunny Tracks, it is my absolute favorite. I could eat it all day long, but then I would get even bigger than I already am…..probably not a good idea. Besides, it is a new year and we are all supposed to have new goals, especially fitness goals right? Well, I have tried and I just can’t seem to drag myself out of bed any earlier than 5:00 a.m. to exercise before I start working. Does running in your dreams count? Hee hee. On a more serious note, I will eventually achieve my goal of a fitness program (at home) and lose the 10 pounds I have gained since Thanksgiving. Until then, can’t I just have one more scoop of ice cream?

Some of my goals for this year are: (not necessarily in this order)

1. Lose weight.
2. Learn more about herbs.
3. Study my bazillion books and papers on preparedness.
4. Read more, scriptures and fun books!
5. Spend more time with family and friends
6. Laugh more.
7. Get my recipes organized.
8. Get in shape, and take a long bike ride on that cool trail that goes to Eagle, NE!!!
9. Go to the temple more.
10. Learn something new.

These are just a few things...!!!

Tagged by Lisa

Six names you go by:
1. Cindy.
2. Cindy Lou who
3. Cin
4. Mom
5. Honey
6. Spud woman (it's a endearing name given to me by my friend Mary in UT)

Three things you are wearing right now:
1. black pants
2. long sleeved t-shirt
3. Socks

Three things you want very badly at the moment:
1. The ability to resist eating so much sugar.
2. More free time.
3. More reading time.

Three People who will fill this out
1. Kim
2 Brenda
3. Stacey

Two things you did last night:
1. Ate Blimpie's
2. Watched "Of Mice and Men."

Two things you ate today:
1. Noodle soup
2. Popcorn

Two people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Kim
2. Mom & Dad

Two things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Go to church
2. Planning for the week.

Your favorite beverages
1. Lemonade
2. Smoothies

I tag Kim, Brenda, and Stacey S.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

As I was heading out the door the other night with Marissa so she could practice driving and I could pick up some transcript work, Ether sitting in the recliner said "where are you guys going?" Without even thinking about it I said "leaving on a jet plane," and just as quick Ether said "don't know when you'll be coming back again."! I cracked up! I told him "you are good." I didn't even know if he would know what I was talking about! It was funny and made my day!