I Love to Read!

Ever since I learned how to read, I have loved to read! I'm sure my mom was a very big influence on me because she has always been a very avid reader. Even back in elementary school I remember reading a lot after school and on weekends. I absolutely loved summers because I could do a lot of wonderful reading then. I don't remember much about what I read back then other than the book Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. I don't know why I only remember that one, but I found a copy of it at Deseret Book in the discount section a couple of months ago and thought it would be fun to read again.

In Jr. High, my friend Susan and I read lots and lots of Nancy Drew mysteries and traded them back and forth. Since then I have read many mysteries and all kinds of books. I think I have read most of Agatha Christie's books. I have read many series such as The Work and the Glory, Prelude to Glory, Harry Potter, and Twilight. I have read many Church books, romance books, historical fiction, art books, and I love Dan Brown's books, including

The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons. He has a new one FINALLY coming out in September that I can't wait to read.

My motto has always been "So many books, so little time"!

One of my favorite books that I read last year was The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews. It is an excellent book that I would recommend to anyone. It is about a man who has everything go terribly wrong in his life and he thinks about ending it. He ends up in a car accident and when he wakes up he goes back in time and talks to many different famous people who give him great advice for his life. He talks to Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Columbus, Anne Frank, and a few others. It is great to "go back in time" with him as these famous people "come to life". The advice they give is wonderful for all of us whether we are struggling or not. Great book!

Card Experiment

These are some cards I made as an experiment to see how many different ideas I could come up with using the Tim Holst stamp set Nature's Discovery. This was so fun to try out different things. As you can see, I was on a red kick!

The Yellow Bowl

When I was growing up my mom used this yellow Pyrex mixing bowl all the time. She used it to mix cake and pancake batter, to mash potatoes in, and make big salads among many other things. When my grandma moved out of her house many years later I was able to get her big yellow mixing bowl, which I remember her mixing bread in. I used it for a long time until a crack started in the bottom of it and I put it into storage because I didn't want it to break all the way and I was very sentimental about saving it. Well, a few months ago there was a commercial on television that showed a grandmother in the kitchen making cookies with her granddaughter and they were using that same mixing bowl! It made me want to find another one to use. My sister Carolyn and I were at an antique store a few weeks ago and she found one there! I was so excited about it and had to buy it! I probably payed three times what it used to cost years ago, but it was worth it! Yes, I'm a very nostalgic person!

Steven's Wedding

Friday July 3, 2009 was Steven's wedding day at the Draper Utah Temple. It was a wonderful day from the Temple ceremony in the morning, to the lunch at the church, to the reception that night. Steven and Katheryn are such a great couple and they look so happy together. Steven has a cute little package thrown into the union- 3 year old Sammy! He is her son from a previous marriage and he is such a cutie! That means that we have 5 GRANDSONS now! Someday we might get some granddaughters! We are so happy for Steven that he has found such a great love. We love Katheryn dearly. She is such a sweetheart and is very beautiful! We hope their life together will be wonderful. They started it out the right way- sealed for time and eternity in the Temple!

ATC's

These are the Artist Trading Cards that we made in the class I taught a week ago.

You can't tell that I love birds and trees, can you?! I have so many tree stamps that I decided to do a series of tree ATC's with different tree quotes that I have collected. I also love old movie stars, so I'm going to do a series of those, too. And, yes, that is a RUBBER STAMP of Elvis! The third photo shows the inside of the second ATC which opens up. These were very fun to do and we had a big class making them.

Roses

I love the climbing rose bush in my backyard! The ROSE has always been my favorite flower. And even though our rose bush is terribly overgrown, I love it. The only bad thing is the roses don't last very long and then we just have the green leaves for the rest of the summer. I decided I had better take pictures before they are completely dead and gone!

I love summer! I love to be able to sit out on my back deck at night and listen to the birds, enjoy the fresh air, and see my roses!

A couple of days ago, Steven found a dragonfly on our front sidewalk not moving. He picked it up with a stick, which it managed to cling to. It was barely alive. We had to take some photos of it because the wings were so pretty. I took the first photo and Steven took the other one with his really good camera.

Stamp Club Card

I actually finished 10 of these cards a few weeks ago for Stamp Club which is tomorrow morning. I did them early before I started tending an extra baby since I didn't know how much time I would have to stamp!

I'm starting to figure out watching two little babies at the same time! It hasn't been too bad. Thank goodness for the swing-- I would never survive without it!!!