Tales of a Shoebox Princess

Birthdays are good days. I don't do much reflection; I just enjoy the day.  I walked at the dome before work and that always starts the day off well. I couldn't control how work went, but luckily, the load was light and I was able to get tasks completed without too much interruption or too many problems. All children checked in over the course of three days so they remain in the will. All siblings and parents made contact in various forms as well. It was just a day to be happy and grateful, and to let go of troubles and stress. I can do that much more easily now that I have no little children in my care. After work, Katie and all came over for dinner and cake. Both grandkids were excited about eating cake, although there was some concern over whether Jackson would have room for cake in his stomach, since he ate 7 meatballs at dinner and wanted more. He really liked the meatballs. The cake was lovely of course. Katie does a bang-up job. I requested the snowflakes as a throwb

Blog title means nothing. I haven't done a 10 things list in a while and there are a few odds and ends that I want to remember. I already forgot one thing once and it took me awhile to remember it. 1. Jackson wanted me to do "Here is the church, here is the steeple" in church last Sunday. So we did it and when I got to the last line, "They all go away," Jackson paused, then said, "Behind your back." Way to be a literalist, Jackson! I had a good laugh (but a quiet one, since we were in Sacrament meeting). 2. Also re "Here is the church", last night, we were driving home from Katie's Windjammer concert, and Jackson informed me that I need to learn a new verse for Here is the church because it's wrong. I asked him what was wrong with it, and he said, "after the prayer, some people go to Primary or Nursery, not home." He is figuring out stuff and comparing things he has been told with his experienced reality. I freaking LOVE

Jim and I have been to Dry Tortugas before , but it was so beautiful and peaceful that we had to go again. And this time, Jim was feeling fine (no passing out, no devil's eyes, no mental confusion) and we were going to snorkel this time!  The catamaran ride is 2 hours of bouncing around, watching the water go by. Jim took dramamine, and I apparently don't get seasick. I get carsick very easily, but stick me on a boat and I'm just fine. the view off the boat I could take pictures of the walls for hours. I like the look of a receding wall.   There are jellies in the moat, but hard to see in the pictures We are getting sunburned proof that I was there (again) the required photo pose for Fort Jefferson. I got my national parks passport stamped too. Most difficult one to get! Look at those vanishing points! No pictures of us snorkeling, but we had a delightful time! I have issues when I first stick my head in the water, but after I rem

No, I don't have marriage advice. (Except choose to be happy, and when you can't be happy, remember that eventually you will get to a point where you can choose to be happy again. Unless there is abuse and then seek help if possible. Sigh. I have not had experience with spousal abuse so my help is woefully inadequate there) OK enough of that. Really, I don't have marriage advice. What works for us is different than what works for others, etc. Keys. As in Florida Keys! 30 year anniversary necessitated a big trip. Plus Jim owed me a return to the keys after he caused us a 48 hour suppression of vacation activities on our 25th anniversary trip to the keys. Thank you, vasovagal syncope. The flight to Ft Lauderdale was a red-eye and the guys who sat behind us were AWFUL. They didn't seem to realize that everyone on the plane just wanted to sleep. They were raucous, foul-mouthed, disruptive, and LOUD. Thankfully I brought ear buds because I turned to music to drown ou

For once in my adult life, I got an idea for a Halloween costume BEFORE the day of a Halloween party. I got to spend a whole week prepping my costume, which was good, because it involved ordering several items from Amazon and sewing a dress. And I got an idea for a matching theme for the trunk or treat (which was moved inside, but we got a couple days advance notice and I was able to adapt my plans) which I was able to execute mostly the way I wanted to. That's a green wig. You can't see the holographic properties of the material of my dress in this photo, but trust me, it was trippy. I kept the batterypacks for the light strings in my pockets (YES MY DRESS HAS POCKETS) and in my bra (for the neckline lights). Firefighter Jackson Viking Kate Elsa Emma, holding a piece of cornbread that she actually ate (she doesn't usually like bread) Viking alien Christian Picking a cake pop for winning the cake walk Twinsies that's how you feed a

I thought Minnesota was essentially a caveless state, other than a few holes in the limestone in St. Paul and a manmade one (Wabasha Cave--also in St. Paul), but when Jim and I started on this State Parks kick, we learned that there is a cave system in MN, south of Rochester. We had to go, and picked the last weekend it was opened to hit it up. Forestville/Mystery Cave state park. Two thumbs up, would recommend. The Mystery title comes from the mystery of why there are no lakes in that area and it has to do with the cave. The tour guide pointed out clues to the puzzle and pointed out basic geological cave formations. We learned about flowstone, dripstone, drapery, domes, pockets, floods, limestone, carbonic acid, fossils, mudstone, etc. armored squid fossil Happy cavers, soaking up the education low ceilings, all natural. the floor is not natural, however. I wanted to squeeze through a few cracks drapery these little pools were s