loving summer

1. warm nights...the ones that make me feel guilty for not going to a drive-in movie

2. canyon extravaganzas

3. family vacations and bbqs

4. Bear Lake season

5. evening walks with C1

6. frozen treats, thank you Vita Mix

connecting with the past

1. grandma mabey's orange rolls and hot cocoa
2. grandpa pouring grandma's hot cocoa on her plate while describing how large the cobb of the corn used to be (as big around as the rim of the cup...)
3. grandma's dream that she and grandpa were moving to a condo...but she was still weeding the garden in front of the house as they were saying goodbye to neighbors.
4. my great grandpa mabey loves tulips...so does grandpa mabey, and so do i
5. great grandma mabey was a "large-set" woman and a great teacher. she chopped wood and told great stories.
6. grandpa wouldn't give his farm days for anything. he's really good at thinning and topping sugar beats.
7. great grandpa mabey was slow to adjust to mechanical farming...the machines couldn't bail the hay as nice.
8. picturing grandma getting caught playing tic-tac-toe on the side of the red brick school building with white chalk by her uncle's girlfriend/school teacher.

tidbits of the past

1. "I'd rather be an old man's sweetheart than a young man's slave" - mary james stewart (my great-great gma)

2. grandpa mabey riding to heber in an old, black ford truck

3. mary james stewart had a laundry business and made her own soap

4. "uncle mark" giving little girl gma mabey a candy from his pocket every time he saw her

5. great-great Gpa hicken was a butcher...built a log cabin in Park City and then a red brick home in Heber.

why I love the 24th of july

1. because it's always a family holiday
2. because I absolutely LOVE pioneer stories
3. because it's usually around 100 degrees and I remember all the sacrifices that have been made for me--physical and spiritual.
4. because it makes Utah different--a peculiar people--to celebrate it
5. because it's a paid holiday at work (I know, totally shallow--and completely realistic)

favorite things about chocolate chip cookies

1. They remind me of my mom

2. They remind me of my dearest friends in the world...and in heaven

3. I have made them so many times it's really hard to mess them up

4. They please almost anyone--Who in their right mind doesn't love a chocolate chip cookie?

5. They're perfect even when they're not--sort of like the way a flower grows...

I don't want to do favorites today.

I just want to think about how nice it is to have a home, and a job, and a husband with a job.  I am thinking about how even though I don't take advantage of it, I can read any book that I ever wanted to.  I can make anything I ever dreamed of...yes.  That is what I'm thinking about today--the fact that I have everything i "need" and so i get to worry about what to do in my leisure time and silly inventions.

Favorite Easter Foods

1. cadbury mini eggs (does anyone disagree?)

2. mom's rolls 

3. cardamom bread 

4. potatoes--usually some kind of cheesy baked goodness

5. peanut butter eggs

Favorite things I inherited from my Mom (Part I)

1) being a food snob

2) a priority list with practicality on top

3) the "Cristie Sneer" (this thing works wonders)

4) an ability to be a peacemaker (when I so choose, of course)

5) a fearlessness/love of people