#1918 throwback Thursday: when Osi came to live with us

On August 1, 2009, this adorable little springer spaniel came into our lives. It had been a few months since our sweet little cocker spaniel, Henley, went to doggie heaven and I was finally feeling ready to get a new pet. I knew I wanted a dog that was a little bigger than a cocker spaniel, but not as big as a labrador. A guy at work had been telling me about a dog he'd had, a springer spaniel, that was the best dog he'd ever had. I did a little research and thought that if I could find a springer that wasn't too outrageously priced, I would get one.

I kept an eye on the local classified ads and finally found some springer puppies for sale that I could afford. I can't remember how much it was, but I'm pretty cheap so it couldn't have been too much. My parents were visiting at the time and I remember that my dad came with T and I to look at the puppies. There were two of them, a girl and a boy. The boy was very friendly and cute, but I really wanted a female dog. The girl was very shy but when she finally came around, she was sweet and so adorable. She came home with us that afternoon.

I decided to name her Osi after Osi Umenyiora, a football player for the New York Giants. I'd heard Umenyiora give an interview on the ESPN radio show "Mike and Mike" and he sounded like a good guy, plus he had a cool name.

Our little Osi really is the sweetest dog. She is a total pack dog - she is not an alpha female. She doesn't even bark. The few times I've heard her bark I didn't really know it was her at first. She will look with interest at other barking dogs, but she doesn't join in. She is submissive. When I take her to doggie daycare, she will stand quietly while all the other dogs sniff her but she doesn't show much interest in sniffing anyone back. She's a peaceful little soul.

For the past two or three years she has suffered from seizures. Her illness has changed her personality. She used to be very active and would run around the yard and loved to go for walks. Now, because of the anti-seizure meds she takes, she is lethargic and seems kind of scared to be out for a walk. She tucks her tail between her legs and sort of slinks around, pulling at the leash. She gets really excited when we are back at the car. She's also put on quite a bit of weight and doesn't jump up like she used to.

Still, she mostly seems happy, especially when she has a chewie bone (rawhide) or a cookie (Milk Bone biscuit). She also really REALLY loves the dried chicken treats I get for her at Trader Joe's. (Everyone in our house loves Trader Joe's!) She has a hard time jumping up on the bed and sometimes even the couch, but when I can get her up with me, she is the best snuggle friend.

I love my dog!

#1904 throwback Thursday: road trip

In July 2010, T and I went on a road trip with my mom and dad. We drove from Salt Lake through Wyoming and up to South Dakota to see the Crazy Horse Monument, Mt. Rushmore and the town of Deadwood. I really liked Mt. Rushmore, but I don't have any good photos of the place. We got there later in the day, more like early evening time so it was pretty dark for picture taking. I remember we watched a presentation that was interesting.

Mostly we spent a lot of time in the truck driving through Wyoming. There is a lot of empty space and antelope in Wyoming. We made a few stops along the way to visit frontier forts. I'd have to look back at my journal entries for details, but mostly what I remember about those stops was how nice it was to get out of the truck and walk around and also watching T with his grandparents.

I have two photos to share today because I couldn't decide on just one. Both photos are from this western adventure.

This first one is my mom at the Crazy Horse Monument.

This next one is T and my dad being silly at a fort in Wyoming.

I always feel thankful that we took this trip together. It was fun to be with my parents and my son and I was glad to see all the things we saw.

#1900 throwback Thursday: family vacation in Tikal

I can't believe it's been five years since our trip to Belize! We went in June 2012 and it was probably our best family vacation. We broke the trip up into two parts. We stayed for three nights out in the jungle at kind of an eco-resort, then we spent a week on Ambergris Caye, which is a little island not far from Belize City.

During the first part of our stay, we took a day and crossed the border into Guatemala and visited the ancient Maya city of Tikal. Speaking for myself, I know it is a day I will never forget. I think the boys agree. It was just the three of us with a guide who was so knowledgeable, friendly and wonderful that being with him added something extra special to the day.

T was 14 during this trip. He smiled so much. He and I went to some other Mayan ruins and we really enjoyed climbing up the temples that we were allowed to climb and listening to the history of the places. When we were on Ambergris Caye, we rented a golf cart and I let him drive it (although I got in trouble for it) and it was fun and easy and good.

MT had a blast, too. While T and I were exploring the Mayan ruins, MT was off trekking through the jungle to see a Mayan sacrificial site in a cave. To this day he talks about the experience and how great it was. On Ambergris Caye, MT went SCUBA diving and snorkeling every day.

The food was wonderful. The people were friendly. The weather was not great (lots of rain) but I wouldn't have had it any other way. I've often thought about going back to Belize, but I know it wouldn't be the same. But for those 10 or 12 days in 2012, everything was right and good.

The photo above was taken in the main square of Tikal. T is just starting to get taller than me. I have both of my original knees in this pic. I would get my right knee joint replaced in August of 2012, so just a couple of months after the trip. MT...he looks just the same.

Such great memories!

#1879 throwback Thursday with Grandpa

Last week I went to Stockton, CA for work. The training session I attended was finished around 4:00 and my flight out of Sacramento wasn't until the next morning, so I had a little time on my hands. I decided to take the opportunity to drive to Dixon to visit my aunt and uncle. They live in the same house where they grew up. I spent many happy days at that house in the summers with my grandparents. Even though my grandparents have long since left this earth, I still like to go to the house. It's the same and it's different than when Grandma and Grandpa were alive. When I'm there, and I close my eyes, I can remember how it was when they were there.

My aunt surprised me by giving me an envelope with seven photos of me as a wee tyke. One of the pics is wee me on a swing with a bigger girl in the swing next to me. There is also a picture of wee me with my mom and my great grandpa Moore. There are two pics of wee me with both my grandma and grandpa and the other three are just wee me and my grandpa.

Of course, as you can see, the photo on this page is wee me (I just turned two!) and my grandpa. His birthday was on June 10, so it's nearly the anniversary of his birthday, and that's why I thought it would be fun to share this pic today. He was born in 1912, so in the photo, taken in 1968, he was celebrating his 56th birthday. MT just turned 56 in May.

I can tell you for certain that my grandpa and my husband lived their first 56 years completely differently!

As my dad has gotten older, I think he really resembles his father. Maybe one of these days I'll post this pic again along with a current pic of MT, just to see what 56 looks like 49 years apart. I'll also post a current pic of my dad to see the resemblance to his dad. I'll work on that :)

#1838 throwback Thursday: March Madness in SLC

It's been four years since the NCAA men's basketball tournament was held in Salt Lake City, in March 2013. Going to the the first two rounds here was so much fun! I bought myself tickets to all three sessions through work, so I sat up in the suite. I wasn't sure if I would like it, I remember, because I don't follow college basketball through the regular season and I wasn't sure if I would "get into" the games. It turned out that wasn't any kind of problem. The bands come with their teams, and fans from the town and parents of players and it makes for an amazing atmosphere. When a higher-seeded team gets upset or when you see a very talented player making his mark on the court, it is exciting.

The tourney is back in SLC for rounds one and two. I thought about trying to get tickets, but I am a little low on funds, so I'm listened to the radio broadcast of some different games during the day and I've been watching some of the games on TV tonight. This first weekend of the tournament is my favorite because there are so many games and therefore so many chances for upsets to happen. There have already been a few today. I haven't checked my bracket yet. I know a couple of teams I picked have lost. It's all fun!

#1831 throwback Thursday - jumbotron madness

The photo above is  of T and his friend Hagen in the suite at the Jazz game back in March 2012. They are jumping around and having a blast, which is why they are blurry.

The picture itself isn't very great, but it reminds me of what happened during this moment.

Like most sports arenas, there is a big jumbo-tron that hangs above the court. During time-outs, cameras pan the crowd and show fans on the big screen who are dancing or who look like they are having fun. The thing is that fans in the suites rarely show up on the big screen.

Except on this night, Hagen and T were on the jumbo-tron. They were so energetic and manic that they would not be denied and somehow a camera found them and they had their 15 seconds of glory on the big screen at the game. They were so incredibly excited and out of their minds. I wish I had filmed them on the screen, but it happened so fast, all I could get were a couple of photos of their excitement.

T is quiet and mellow. Hagen totally drove this adventure and opportunity. That kid was fueled up on soda and dessert cart. I believe he is clutching a Coca-Cola in this photo. I apologized to his mom when I took him home that night because he was still buzzing. It was very fun to see them get so hyped.

Good times!

#1781 throwback Thursday - jumping

October 2009

We used to have a trampoline in the back yard when T was younger. T loved to go out and jump on the trampoline, and so did Osi. Osi liked to stretch out on the tramp and lay in the sun, and when she got too hot, she would lie down on the grass under the tramp. T was a good jumper. I don't really remember him doing flips and stuff, but I'm sure he did. He liked to jump high. It was funny to watch him double bounce the dog.

I just noticed that this photo looks like T is jumping off the fence, but it's just an illusion. Funny though!

I loved taking photos of T and Osi on the trampoline. I have lots of these kinds of photos.

#1776 throwback Thursday: family selfie

The night was dark and the flash was bright, apparently!

This photo is from October 2009. The three of us went to Las Vegas with our BFFs Rob and LA. If I remember correctly, we stayed at Luxor and went to the Criss Angel show there one night. As I recall, we were sitting near the top of the theater so we had too good of a view of the trap doors and stage props that helped Criss Angel with his "magic". We loved his TV show, but seeing him in person kind of took the dazzle out of it for us. It was fun to go to a Vegas show, though.

The night of this photo, we walked up the Strip to see the fountains at the Bellagio. Wow...it's been seven years since we did that? Time flies.

#1765 throwback Thursday - last year

I know that last year's photo doesn't exactly qualify as a throwback photo, but in the spirit of reliving our trip to Spain a little, I wanted to post a photo of my mom, my sister and I that is absolutely one of my favorites.

If I remember correctly, this was on our third day in Barcelona. We were sitting in a little courtyard across from the cathedral in the barri gotic. I'm sure that Lizzie and I were joking around and making Mom question whether hanging around with us - in fact bringing us with her - was such a good idea after all.

So many silly, fun little memories. This is definitely one for me. I completely love the look on Mom's face.

#1758 throwback Thursday: when they were little

Sometimes I know exactly what I want to do for throwback Thursday, and sometimes I have no idea. Today was a no idea kind of day, so I plugged in the external hard drive with the photos on it, I closed my eyes and I picked a year. I landed on 2009. I wanted to do a September photo, but I guess I didn't take any photos in September 2009, so I chose August. Lucky! August 2009 was the month that we brought Osi into our home. I found this photo and I knew it was the one to share. So cute!

#1744 throwback Thursday - Utah football

Happy September! Today was awesome because not only is it the first day of one of my favorite months of the year, but it was also the first day of the college football season! Tonight the University of Utah Utes played the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds here in Salt Lake City. I'm happy to say the Utes dominated - or at least blew the T-birds out 24-0. Like I said, the first game of the season and the Utes have some stuff to work on, but they got the result against the Thunderbirds, so it's good. I was happy to be watching football from the cozy comfort of my couch.




Check out this throwback pic:

I think this photo is from the very first Utah game that T and I ever went to, taken in November 2005.  Tonight he attended the game as a member of the Mighty Utah Student Section, the MUSS.

Sorta cool, isn't it?

Catch ya tomorrow!

#1714 Throwback Thursday: Every Little Thing

Before anything...I'm sad and disturbed about what happened in Nice, France today. It almost seems like hardly a day goes by that you don't hear about something horrible happening in the world. It's tragic and it's f'd up. Sometimes I feel kind of hopeless and helpless. How do you stop terrorism and violence? I try and have faith in the leaders of world and hope they can fix it. I know it's a tall order and many of the countries, including this one, have their own issues to take care of. It's an absolutely crazy time in history.

Here's what I know, though. I can't stop living my life and doing things that I enjoy and making the best of what I've got because of terrorists or excessive violence. I have to be aware of what is happening around me, but I am not going to crawl into my basement and not come out until that's the absolute last resort.  In the meantime, I'm going to play Pokemon Go, I'm going to ride my bike and go to the movies and listen to music and laugh when I get the chance and try to spread a little happiness whenever and however to whoever I can. I hope that you all choose to do the same. :)

On that note, I decided not to post a photo for Throwback Thursday. Instead, I'm going to post a music video from the golden age of videos - the 1980s - from my very most favorite band of all time, The Police. I heard this song on the radio earlier this week and I cranked up the volume and sang my face off in the car. I thought about the video, too. It was filmed on the Caribbean island of Montserrat.

I remember when MT and I took our first cruise in 2006, the volcano on Montserrat was erupting. We sailed by the island at night. It's black out at sea at night, but in the distance, you could see the orange lava flowing down the mountain and see trees bursting into flames.

The song is Every Little Thing She Does is Magic. I love the reggae-inspired beat and the crazed dancing in the studio and the close-up of Sting toward the end when he sings, "Eeee Yo". This song differs from most Police songs in that it actually ends. Most of their songs just fade out.

Here's hoping the song and video bring a smile to your face and a little joy into your day.

#1708 throwback Thursday: a walk in the mountains

July 2010

Hi! I had fun picking out this week's photo. I remember the excursion, but I'd forgotten about the photos.

The photo above was taken about this time six years ago, on July 10, 2010 to be exact. MT and I decided it would be fun to take a walk up in the mountains. I have never been very good at walking on uneven terrain, but I had lost weight and I was considerably thinner and in better shape than I am now or had been for a long time, so we went on an easy walk. (Notice I don't call it a hike. I think that's giving what we did too much credit.)

If I remember right, we went up to the village of Alta just past the ski resort of the same name. MT knew about a trail that lead to a lake, so that's where we went. There were a couple of streams that we had to cross and even a little snow, as evidenced above with my somewhat Captain Morgan-ish stance. I think I was just wearing some sneakers and my feet got a little wet. I do remember that when we got back into town we went straight to REI where I got myself a pair of Keens.  (I really like the Keen sandals! I wear them a lot on the weekends.)

There's one more thing that I remember about this walk in the woods. I was anxious to get home in time to watch Spain play in the World Cup. I was just thinking about it as I was writing and I Googled it to verify the timing. I was right! Check it out here.

Good times!

#1701 throwback Thursday: happy birthday LA!

September 2011

This is my favorite photo - and one of very few photos - that I have with my best friend LaDonna. Today is her birthday, so it just seemed right to post of photo of us together. We've been friends since 1989 when we were both working at the newspaper office in Pocatello. Poky is a small town and there were a lot of random things that we had in common. For example, her husband worked with my brother-in-law. Her cousin was married to my sister-in-law's sister. Her husband knew my boyfriend from rock climbing. On top of that, we just clicked. We got each other. Do you know how fun and fantastic it is to see your best friend at work every day? We'd hang out at work all day, then we'd go home and immediately call each other. We would go over to each others houses often.  We didn't have a lot of money back then, so we would pool our money to buy a pizza and watch a video at one or the others house. When MT and Rob (her husband) went climbing or skiing, the two of us would hang out. When she had her son, I felt like an honorary auntie. We were tight and it was great.

When we moved to Salt Lake, LA and I kept in touch. It wasn't the same, of course. There were often long stretches that we didn't talk or see each other much - mostly my fault. But we hung in there and I think our friendship is strong and good. When we see each other or talk on the phone, it's like we just pick up the conversation like no time has passed. It's amazing to have a friend like this! I feel extremely lucky that she puts up with my potty mouth and the physical distance between us.

Happy birthday LA! I love you and I miss you! I hope to see you soon!!

PS - in the photo, we didn't even plan to have the same shirt on. We each dressed on our own and loved it when we saw we had matching shirts!

#1688 throwback Thursday: Tulum

April 2007, T and I at Tulum, Mexico. It was the first time the three of us went on a big vacation out of the country. My in-laws came too and we brought T's cousin Garrett with us. It was a fun trip - lounging by the pool all day, the boys eating lots and lots of ice cream, taking a few cool excursions, including this one to the Mayan ruins of Tulum in the morning and then spending a few hours in the afternoon at Xel-Ha park.

#1668 throwback Thursday: prom night

My throwback Thursday photo goes back over 30 years to my senior prom. I went to the dance with a dude I'd been going out with for a few months. I'm pretty sure his first name was Alan, but I'm drawing a total blank on the last name. He was already out of high school, and I don't think he was all that excited about taking me to the prom, but he did anyway. When he brought me home that night, he broke up with me. I really don't remember much about the dance except that we were there and I had a pink dress. My mom took this photo. Is it before or after the dance? I don't know but my expression pretty much sums up the whole night.




In contrast, my son T went to his senior prom last Saturday. He and his date were beautiful and happy to go.

Not only did they look great, but they had a great time, too :)

#1661 throwback Thursday: Mother's Day

T picked the year, I picked the photo. This photo was taken on Mother's Day 2006. T was an adorable eight year old. I was a good 40 pounds heavier than I am now. But my hair and my skirt are on point.

#1642 throwback Thursday: Saturday o'Fun

Back in 2006, MT had a job in which he worked the swing shift, so he would go to work in the late afternoon and return home sometime around or after midnight. When he got home, MT didn't go straight to because you usually don't go straight to bed when you finish work. You need time to unwind, maybe have a bite to eat and watch TV or a movie or something, so that's what he would do. Of course T and I would already be asleep, so it was a time of our not really interacting much with each other, except on the weekends.

On Saturday mornings, MT would want to sleep in, so T and I would go out on adventures that we called our "Saturday o'Fun". I would try to pick things for us to do that T would enjoy and that would get us out of the house for a few hours so MT could rest and then be civil to hang out with later in the day.

The photo I chose for this week's installment of Throwback Thursday is from March 2006. T and I went over to the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City. We went to a restaurant that had a big video game room. Here T is doing a skiing game. His body posture looks a bit uncomfortable, but he seems very intent on the game. I remember we played a bunch of games including some intense air hockey, then we wandered around the aquarium for awhile and ended up by the dancing fountain.

I liked Saturday o'Fun. We did some cool stuff and I'm glad to have those memories of hanging out with my little boy.

#1635 throwback Thursday: my first visit to Red Butte Garden

My first visit to Red Butte Garden was as a chaperone for T's class in May 2007. T was nine years old, so maybe it was fourth grade. I didn't know anything about the place, but I found out it is in the foothills above the University and there is a lot of natural area. I think we saw a rattle snake.

Since May 2007 and prior to this year, I think I have been to the garden a couple of other times. Once I went with T in the summer. I remember that he played on the giant lizards in the Children's Garden. Another time I attended a concert there, but that wasn't really the garden itself - it was at the amphitheater.

My point is that I don't have a lot of experience with the place, but I was compelled to ask for a membership to the garden for Christmas last year. I thought it would be cool to go up there once a month or so and look around. You also get first dibs on the concert tickets when you are a member. There have been several shows over the years that I would have liked to attend, but it's tough to get tickets because it's such a cool, laid-back venue. (You can bring your own beverages. Very unusual in Utah.)

MT did give me a membership and I have been to the gardens a couple of times this year to walk around and check things out. I recently received an email saying that the garden was looking for volunteers and they were holding a volunteer fair where you could get more information and sign up. I decided that volunteering at Red Butte Garden would be a good thing. At the end of last year/beginning of this year, I did an exercise called "Unravelling". I've talked about it before. One of the goals I set for myself was to volunteer somewhere. It's all part of my plan to meet people and be more sociable.

I did go to the volunteer fair, and I signed up to volunteer in a couple of areas. After talking to the volunteer coordinator and going through a background check, I have been accepted. I have three jobs there: bloom recorder, photographer and garden guide. I think it will be pretty easy to get in 20 volunteer hours this year (20 hours is the minimum commitment.) Tonight I had my first training session for the jobs.

What is bloom recorder? I will go to the garden once a week and record what is blooming in my particular garden. I chose the Children's Garden because it is small and I thought it would be manageable. There are about a dozen pages of plant names associated with the Children's Garden. Thankfully everything has signs so I should be ok. I had about half an hour training on it tonight and I think it will be fine.

As a photographer, I will be taking photos of the garden. I even have a tag to wear that says I am a photographer! I will take photos of anything that catches my eye. It could be plants or trees or flowers. It could be birds or critters or even people. I'm pretty sure the photographer gig will be fun.

The garden guide business is a little more daunting, but it could be cool. I took a tour of the garden tonight with a guide and it was awesome. I learned a lot and I was excited about it. The garden is a beautiful place and the volunteer coordinator and the guide said the biggest thing was to share your enthusiasm about the garden and if you can share a little knowledge, too, it is good! I will have the opportunity to go through some more guide training before I take any people out. I may give private tours or act as a docent and just roam around answering questions or showing people how to get places.

It is amazing how much the garden changes in just a few weeks. I was there around Valentine's Day and there was still quite a bit of snow and nothing was blooming yet but there's still a sleepy beauty to it. I was there on March 5 for the volunteer fair and then I walked around. The spring bulbs were blooming - mostly the smaller purple flowers like hyacinths. Today there were daffodils all over the place and the trees have little green leaf buds and some of the magnolia trees are starting to bloom. It was a different place. I can't wait to go back when I can roam around by myself and take lots of photos. By the way, it didn't look like too much was blooming in the Children's Garden, but what do I know? There are a lot of plants in there!

You guys are going to be sick of hearing about Red Butte Garden (let's call it RBG). Or maybe you will think that you have got to get up there and look at it yourself and maybe even have me give you a tour :)

Here's a photo I took tonight:

This cute little bunny was having dinner right by the front entrance of the visitor center and he was kind enough to stop and pose for me.

#1628 #tbt: it's time for the Madness

It is one of my favorite times of the year - the NCAA men's basketball tournament, also called March Madness. Starting today, 64 teams start the tournament. If you lose, you go home. Winners advance to the next round. By Sunday, we will be down to the Sweet 16. Those 16 teams will play starting next Thursday and by the end of Easter weekend, we will be down to the Final 4. Those 4 teams will play on April and then there will be two teams left and those two teams will play in the championship game on April 4.

I think the first weekend is the most fun because there are so many games all four days and the first weekend is when most of the upsets happen. There is so much emotion and passion and competitiveness. It's awesome!

Part of the fun of March Madness for me is filling out a bracket - trying to figure out who is going to win. So far today my bracket looks good because I picked Yale and Arkansas - Little Rock to win. Both of those teams were number 12 seeds going against number 5 seeds. (Every team in the tourney has a seeding - a ranking. There are four divisions, so each division has 1 through 15 seeds. It makes sense if you look at a bracket. You can look at one here.)

The Utah Runnin' Utes are a 3 seed in the Midwest division. I just watched their game, which they won, thank you very much :) I'm feeling pretty tired, but I want to stay up just a little longer to watch a bit more of the Arizona game and the Seton Hall game.

To bring this all back to Throwback Thursday, in 2013, the first round of the NCAA men's tourney was here in Salt Lake City. I was able to purchase a ticket to sit in my company's suite to watch the games. I remember that it was a whole bunch of basketball and that it was really, really fun to be there. My #tbt photo is of the court:

I learned today that Salt Lake City will be hosting the first round of the tourney again next year. Man, I would really love to watch the games here again!

Happy March Madness! And Happy St. Patrick's Day!