Flashback Friday.

First...
Look at this picture.
Just for a minute...

Aahhhhh....
Now! We just recently went to pick up a Victrola from Daniel's parents. It was made in 1918. Daniel fixed some stuff in it so he gets it. There is still a gear that doesn't work. If you happen to have a Victrola hanging around with a gear that works, let me know.

Along with the Victrola came tons of old records. Vinyl. Remember?? No?! When were you born??

Oh the sound of vinyl records playing...

My kids just didn't get it. "Those would NOT fit in our DVD player!" Nope.

So now scroll back up to the top.....And then come back!

Shaun Cassidy.

Met her on a Monday and my heart stood still.

Do you remember him?

Somebody told me that her name was Jill.

All this vinyl record stuff brought back a memory.

I knew what she was thinkin when she caught my eye.

A memory that brought tears to my eyes.

She looked so fine I thought my oh my.

I had Shaun's DaDoRonRon record.

Picked her up at seven and she looked so fine.

I played it on my very own record player.

Some day soon I'm gonna make her mine.

All.

The.

Time.

Oh Shaun, I wanted to marry you!! Please call me!

One day I set my beautiful Shaun Cassidy-my dream boat-DaDoRonRon record out in the sun.

On the little brick wall.

I left.

When I came back the vinyl had melted.

Shaunny Shaun Shaun had melted into the shape of a large vinyl taco.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Shaun...I miss you.....

And when I walked her home. Da Do Ron Ron Ron Da Do Ron Ron......

Flashback Friday.

Here it is. THE flashback. 39 years ago a wonderful thing hapened.

ME.

Yep, a flashback to February 5, 1971. That really can't be as long ago as it sounds. Really!

But it's true. I'm 39 today. One more year in my 30's.

Then the mammograms will start!

Flashforward Friday.

This is a flashforward Friday, rather than a flashback. I went shopping today. Daniel has told me in the past to just buy something baby each time I go shopping. I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. Until today...

I bought a package of Newborn diapers. So now I have some diapers and I have bottles for when we get the call. This may be all I get for a while. I felt a little silly buying them. Like people were staring at me. I know, they weren't. But still. Like I said, I'm ready.

Flashback Friday.

So it's still Friday. I still have 2 hours left of it, actually. I just had a wonderful experience tonight. And it brought back so many memories. Flashbacks, if you will.

Tonight a family was baptized. A Spanish speaking family. They were taught the gospel and were touched by the Spirit. Tonight they were all baptized, taking that first step towards exaltation. The thing that got me was the Spanish. I was asked to lead the music and one hymn was in English and one was in Spanish. So I got my Spanish hymn book out and sang through Cuenta Tus Bendiciones many many times. Throughout the baptismal service, the language, the testimonies, the Spirit, the whole experience brought back my mission.

This is where I would put a picture from my mission. My Spanish speaking mission. But, alas, I cannot find my mission scrapbook. I'd like to think I just misplaced it. But who knows.

A flood of memories of teaching in Spanish. Of eating Mexican, Argentinian, Spanish, Cuban, Panamanian, Peruvian .....Food! Oh the lard! Of little kiddos begging us to come in so we could play with them and talk to their parents. Of watching when the Spirit took hold of their hearts and then watching as the Spirit changed them. Of hearing them accept the challenge to be baptized. Of watching as they took that first step and then continued to go to church, to read their scriptures, to participate, to grow. And of course, of bearing testimony in Spanish.

It's been a long time. I appreciate the mom's willingness to speak English to me because it's been so many years. But tonight, I heard scriptures, testimonies and a hymn in a language I love. I love the way my mouth feels when I speak Spanish! Seriously! If a language can be tasty, Spanish is delicious! It's tastes of arroz...frijoles...carne asada...mole...tortillas de maiz...all those yummy things that I could never duplicate when cooking. That's what Spanish is to me. Yummy. Delicious.

I'm hungry.

Tengo hambre.

Sometimes I wish I could go back and relive those moments of my mission that changed me. That strengthened me. Tonight was a great reminder of the power of this gospel. Each will hear the gospel in his own tongue. I am so grateful that this family chose to listen. Chose to act. I guarantee that in a year I will be able to post that they've gone to the temple.

I love feeling the Spirit!

And if you want to know more, ask me. Or click HERE to learn more!

Flashback Friday.

8th grade. Simpler times. Younger times. It was 1984. And I was in 8th grade. I loved my feathered hair. And my beads! Something happened the other day that reminded me of lunch in 8th grade. Daniel ate a dill pickle.

I hung out with Lisbeth at lunch. We sat on a tall wall and watched everyone eat. I had the same lunch every day. It was healthful. It was nutritious.

A large pickle and Peanut Butter cups.

The pickle was .25 and was huge. And really filling. The PB cups were, well, yummy. Lunch was always a cheap treat.

Today's lunch ladies would freak out!

I loved 8th grade lunch.

Today I have my friend's little lady.

She saw the pickles and asked if she could have one.

How could I refuse?

She had also had Cheetos. Oh yeah, we know how to snack!

So today, to relive 8th grade memories, I may have a dill pickle and a PB cup for lunch.

Wait.

Maybe I'll just let that remain a memory.

Flashback Friday

So this is still Jennie. But I'm writing as if I were Daniel. But I'm still me. Understand? You'll get it. Don't worry. Here we go.

Hi, this is Daniel. I am Jennie's man. I am her adorer. I am her fixer. I am her fun provider. I am the one who makes her crazy. I am Handsome, but you must understand...I must be to counteract my dear, sweet, wonderful, fantastic wife's beauty and grace. She really is the reason for my being. The reason for getting up in the morning. The reason I work so hard. My wife is incredible.

Here I am on Halloween many years ago. You know, I am coming up on 40 in a matter of months. So this picture really seems old. Ancient. Cryptic.

I am Lurch.
Because I was the tallest of all my friends. The other guys rounded out the other Adam's Family characters. There were some girls, too. But they weren't Jennie. So I didn't pay attention.

Do you want to guess at how old I was in the picture? Come on. Do it. Think about it and I will tell you at the end of this super post. Then you have to say in the comments how old you think I am in the picture. After you revive yourself, of course.

We went to The Bay in Salt Lake. Do you know it? Wait. Do you remember it? My wife went there once. She wasn't impressed. But then again, I wasn't there to impress her!

We went to The Bay often. To pick up chicks. Jennie asked me how many of us actually got dates (heck, I'd even go for a fake phone number) out of our picking up. None of us. But my friends all thought they were cool. I just went along for the ride. They were really dumb. But I did dance with cute chicks. But they just weren't Jennie. What can I say?

We went to The Bay for Halloween dressed as the Adam's Family. Aren't we clever? Today I went to work in jeans and a shirt Jennie bought me that she says I look hot in. Maybe I'll get lucky. Hee hee.

I won't be going to The Bay this year. It closed down a long time ago. Did I mention I'll be 40 soon?

Okay. What you've been waiting for. In the picture I wasn't 14. I know I look it. I was about 25. And I still had hair.

Flashback Friday.

This flashback goes back exactly 8 years. Exactly. I had recently found out I was expecting Sam. On this particular morning, like many mornings, I was in the bathroom hurling. Isaac was on the couch watching Blue's Clues. And my phone rang. It was my sister Katie asking if I was watching the news. I wasn't. She told me to turn it on because something was happening. So I did. I saw smoke and people running and reporters, no one knowing what was happening. A second airplane had just flown into the World Trade Center. I asked Katie what was happening and she said she didn't know. Just that airplanes had flown into the building.

I called Daniel, who was at a doctor appointment. I asked him if he knew what was going on. He said they were watching it in the waiting room and things were just confusing. He went into work and they sent everyone home because of the fear of another plane crash.

Daniel and I sat on the couch that day and watched the horror play out. We saw that 2 other planes had crashed. One into the Pentagon and another in a field. That one was in a field because the passengers heard about the other flights and took matters into their own hands. There was talk of terrorists. All flights were grounded.

Over the next couple of weeks as the scenes were played over and over and I ducked my head every time I heard an airplane, I was terrified. Not that a plane would come crashing down here on my home, but because I had a little boy and another baby on the way. What was I doing? Why was I bringing these 2 little precious people into an evil and scary world? I spent a lot of days and nights praying and thinking and losing hope of being able to keep my children safe.

At the end of September, I was still puking a lot and couldn't go to the General Sister's Conference on Saturday night. So I waited until 8pm and watched it in my jammies on my couch. Sister Sherry Dew spoke. I don't remember what she said. I only remember the peace I felt in having a family. I knew that my children needed me to be the best mom I could be. I needed to provide a safe and loving home where they could be raised in the Gospel. I knew that I was the right person to bring these 2 children into the world. Every year I flashback to the moment I saw the horror in New York. And every year I am reminded of my role as a mother and wife. I am grateful that I have been blessed with my family. I am grateful to live in a country founded on Liberty. I am grateful for the men and women who serve our country so that we can continue to partake in that Liberty and to help other nations come closer to grasping it. I mourn the many who lost their lives 8 years ago. Whether because they were in the buildings or airplanes when they crashed or they ran in to save as many as they could and lost their lives in the process.

Have a wonderful Friday and may we never forget the many who have sacrificed so we can enjoy such a beautiful day!

Flashback Friday.

Here we are on the first week of school. I hated school. Seriously. But memories always flood in when I send my kiddos to school. So today we are going back to second grade. 1978. Don't I look like I'm enjoying second grade?
There was a boy named Bobby in my class. I thought he was cute. One day, all the girls started chasing him. Well, I'm a girl, so I joined in. Then things started to change. Drastically. In a way that would forever impact my life. I was named as the girl who would kiss Bobby. Kiss?! Are you cootie crazy?! So the boys joined in and they pinned him down. They all called me up to kiss the boy. I did. Yes. I did. It was an adrenaline rush. Whew!

Then we went back to class. One kid was determined to get me into trouble. You see, it was a school rule that girls don't kiss boys. Especially when they are pinned to the ground by the other punk boys. Danny was his name. And he had really thick glasses and was mean! He kept trying to get the teachers attention. Finally the teacher told Danny that she didn't care what he was trying to tell her. I remember looking at my best teacher ever. She just looked at me, smiled, then went on with the teaching. I knew that she knew what I had done. But I was forgiven. I was saved.

Sometimes I wish it were that easy to get away with stupid peer pressured things you do. Not that I have peer pressure now or anything. And I actually enjoy kissing now. And the only pressure to do it is when Ruthie says, "Mom are you going to kiss dad again?" My answer is always, "Why, yes, yes I am."

Flashback Friday

But first I will address my "Obviously!" post. My sister Laurie just told me what to do to fix my sidebars. Thank you! My life is now complete.

As I said before, Isaac found a quarter in a door jam. So he got the pliers and pulled it out. Sam and Ruthie huddled around him to admire his handy work. Then Isaac said it was dated "1981".

Do you know what this started??

Isaac says, "Wow, that was sooooo long ago. I wasn't even born yet."

Sam says, "That's like a thousand years ago!"

Ruthie says, "It's so ancient!"

Yeah. I'd like to show you "1000 years ago". This is Daniel 1000 years ago. Isn't he cute?! He was 11 years old. So I guess that makes him 1011 years old.

And this is me "1000 years ago". I am now 1010 years old. And feeling every year of it.

1000 years ago I was in 5th grade. I had my most favorite teacher in 5th grade. Mrs. Pickett.
It was also my first experience with a kid puking in class. We had all of our chairs up on our desks when a kid hurled! Loudly. Splashingly. Grossly.

That was my first experience with a gagging reflex. A reflex made stronger with pregnancies.

It was also where I learned about black lung disease. Mrs. Pickett's dad had been a lifelong smoker. She described what her dad's lungs looked like because of the heavy smoking. I was sufficiently turned off from ever smoking.

I loved the dress you see in the picture. I wore it a lot. I loved it. Do you understand?

I wonder if I would have thought Daniel was cute if we had been in the same class in 5th grade.

I definitely think he's cute now.

Flashback Friday...On Tuesday!

So Daniel and I have been borrowing my dad's DVDs of the old Mission:Impossible series. No, not Tom Cruise. We're talking back in the late 60's. Peter Graves. Martin Landau. We are staying up late to watch the episodes, too. But we are enjoying them.

So last night we are watching an episode from season 3 and there is a guy, the bad guy, who played Mr. Mushnik. You know, the shop owner from Little Shop Of Horrors. And that, my dear friends, brings around this whole lotta memory makin stuff. 7th grade. Math. Clicking. Mr. Mulshenock.

You see, in 7th grade I had a math teacher named Mr. Mulshenock. He never got out of his chair behind the desk. He was old. He scared me. Speaking of 7th grade, here I am in it...

Oh yes, feathered hair. Think Farrah Faucett. 1983. I was so hip.

Anyhoo, Mr. Mulshenock was a math teacher. Did I say that already? He was. There is no denying it. So all the memories of 7th grade math come rushing in. He had a box on his desk labeled "Mak-Up". He told us if we miss an assignment, we needed to finish it and put it in the Mak-Up box. He also said, "See? I know how to spell make up." And as a young, impressionable, naive sort of creature I thought "Mak-Up" was how you actually spell "Make Up". For a very long time.

On a parent teacher night type thing...the students always went and we didn't have appointments, just walked in to talk to whatever teacher you wanted. Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but I was always there. So my mom and dad are talking to him about me and my math skills. Excuse me. Lack of math skills. My dad said, "Math finally clicked for me in 7th grade. So maybe it will click for Jennie." Mr. Mulshenock said, "That's what I hope will happen. She just needs it to click. I'm sure it will." And that is really the conversation they had. Word for word.

For your information, I think about that small exchange on a regular basis. If you ever think that something you say will never be remembered or have an effect on someone...think again. I have thought a lot about math clicking, even willed math to click for me. Maybe that conversation warped any chance of having math click for me. Maybe I think about it too much.

And, Mr. Mulshenock, if you're reading this, math still hasn't clicked for me. And I DO know how to spell Make-Up. Even though I question it as I write it. Still! And I'm not afraid of you anymore! Umm. Serious!

Flashback Friday.

Finally, right? Oh. You haven't been waiting on pins and needles for a flashback Friday?? What's wrong with you? Nevermind. I haven't been waiting for one either. So we're even. Feel better? I sure do. I was sitting on my bed this afternoon reading a book and then decided I needed another blog post. But what to blog about? Hmmm. So I headed down to the basement and found a scrapbook. It happens to be my mission scrapbook. I served in the California Ventura Mission back in the early 90's. I didn't want to ever serve a mission. Whenever we would sing the song I Hope They Call Me On A Mission in Primary, I would cringe with fear that, out of the blue, I would be called on a mission. Duh. You have to ask to be called by sending an application. But I was young...
So I decided to go. I got my call to speak Spanish and serve in the Ventura Mission. I was excited. I cut my hair really short for some reason, too. As I went through my scrapbook, which I avoid, much like my mission journals, I got a stomach ache. I felt like I was going to hurl. You could say my mission wasn't a favorite time in my life. It was hard. I was sick. I didn't do well with the language for the first, oh, 15 months of the 18 month assignment. I had a crappy companion. Or two. Or... So as I went through my pictures I felt ill. I actually wouldn't change the fact that I went, though. My mission made me grow and mature and my testimony was challenged in a way nothing else in the world could challenge it. I am who I am because of the experiences I had in those 18 months.

Here I am when I was separating from my family in the MTC (Missionary Training Center). The dork dot clearly on my shoulder so all the more "seasoned" MTC missionaries could ridicule, etc.

And since all my pictures contain me (Fat and with really short hair.) and my name tag, which clearly would reveal too much info, I decided to share a fun picture from my last area. That is a Mexican Jesus playing basketball with some kids. It was a small Mexican town called La Colonia. We sisters could only go there during the day, and only with permission from our district leader. It was an awesome place. Scary, but awesome.

So there you go. My flashback of an experience so many years ago and so many stomach aches ago. I still haven't read my mission journals. After going through my pictures, I don't think I'll be doing it really soon, either.

Have an awesomely wonderful Independence Day tomorrow!

Flashback Friday

When Daniel's parents got home from their mission and we started to be there more often to visit them, I saw this picture on a magnet on their fridge. Some time after my boys were born, his mom gave me the magnet. This is a picture from Daniel's mission (circa 1989). He and his companion were out on P-day and his companion snapped this picture. He definitely had more hair. You'd probably never guess he had a forehead in this picture. He certainly does now! It's so picturesque and peaceful. Almost makes me want to go camping in the mountains. Almost. But not quite. And now with a picture of me just a year before this, and him so dapper, wouldn't we have just been so cute together?? Oh, wait. We are now. Just took us a while to get here. Which reminds me. I have about 2 more parts to my Once Upon A Time thingy. I should get on that.

Junior Prom

Want a fun April Fool's Day post? I am not going to fool you. It's prom season and one of my cute babysitters gave me a picture of her and her date on prom night a couple of weeks ago. Then yesterday while scrubbing my filthy laundry room which is now so clean no one is allowed to go in it, I found this picture...
That's me and Mike at our Junior Prom. Promise Me. 1988. 21 years ago. My perm made my hair fall out in large patches around my head. My aunt did my perm. My grandma (Meme) made my dress so I would be modest. We're all about modesty here. Mike was nice until after prom then he was a jerk. We had warm tomatoes on our dinner plates. When Mike ate his, the whole thing at once I might add, he gagged and said it tasted like warm ketchup. I didn't eat my tomato. I had to drive his mom's car because Mike didn't have his license yet. The only driving option at my house was an Econoline van. It was a fun night. I still get tingles. Or am I getting cold chills? Promise Me...

Now as to the reason this picture was in a deep corner under all the shelves in my filthy laundry room which is now so clean no one is allowed in it, I really have no idea. Maybe I'm the fool. You're still not allowed in my laundry room!

Fantastic Flashback Friday.

I pass by this picture every day. It is in a frame on my hall wall. I love it. Sam really didn't love this Christmas jammie hat.

Sometimes I feel like this inside. I just don't have the tight Christmas hat to blame it on.

Hope you are having a Fantastic Friday!

Flashback Friday

This picture has been sitting on my counter, floor, table, rug, computer desk and floor again for the last couple of weeks. This is my Flashback Friday Fantasy. Way back when I was single and had money to burn and vacation days to take, I traveled a lot with different friends. One of those friends was Jodie, the one who introduced me to the Polygamist. *Shudder* In the summer of '97 Jodie and I went to So Cal. We visited Dinsneyland and then went out to Catalina Island. It was the off season so nothing was open and the beaches were not being well used. We sat on this beach and just vegged. Well, I sat. Jodie went swimming and stuff. I have this thing about water, you see. I had started reading a book on this beach from Oprah's book list. It was one of the most horrible books I have ever read. I rested well when I got rid of the book. Oh no! The horrible book flashbacks! On days like this, when the air is crisp and spring is taking its sweet time to arrive, I think of sitting on a beach in a dress covered in sunflowers, soaking in some sun and reading a book. A good book!

Do I look pasty?

Have a Fabulous Friday!

Thursday Throwback

I discovered last evening that my blog has been hit over 5000 times. And to honor the largeness of the number of hits, I thought I would take this opportunity to list 5000 wonderful and magnanimous things about...ME!

Ha ha. Hee hee. Ho ho ho. Just kidding. I like myself. But not that much. And since I'm bored and finally found an old scrapbook, I thought I'd do a Thursday Throwback.

This is me in the 8th Grade New Haven Marching Band. I played the flute. I was awesome! Well, not awesome enough to keep going when I got to high school. The Flute is just one more instrument I didn't expound on. Like the Piano. The Harmonica. The Bell.

Have A Thoroughly Thtupendous Thursday!

Flash Foward Friday...

I have a couple of friends doing Flashback Friday. I'm going to do a Flash Forward Friday. You see, yesterday we bounced back to Lagoon. Oh yeah. So fun. I knew this time, instead of tennies, I would need sandals. But not my "they will fall off if you ride The Bat and I don't want to take them off to ride The Bat and I want to be able to have my feet get wet when we go on Rattlesnake Rapids without ruining a perfectly good pair of tennies or my cute flip floppy sandals." So I went rummaging in my closet and found some beauties. I bought these several years ago when we were going to Albuquerque on vacay so I would, well, I don't remember why

I thought I needed these for the trip. They are Old Lady Sandals. I apologize if you are young and wear these sandals, but they are for little old ladies...like my aunt. In fact, I can picture my aunt wearing these sandals with her dark blue vericose veins....

I was very comfy at Lagoon. They wore fabulously well. I am happy I had a pair of Old Lady Sandals for this particular day. So, I can picture myself wearing these Old Lady Sandals often in the near future.
I would like to thank Loreal for the faint coloring on my ankles that helped my ankels not be so white. Thank you very much!