2/10/2019
Amber published her 16 Personalities profile and it reminded me that I took that same test as an activity with a United Way retreat so I thought it would be fun to publish my results as well.
Summary:
Personality type: “The Logistician” (ISTJ-A)
Individual traits: Introverted – 99%, Observant – 66%, Thinking – 71%, Judging – 53%, Assertive – 90%
Role: Sentinel
Strategy: Confident Individualism
99% - Introverted individuals prefer solitary activities and get exhausted by social interaction. They tend to be quite sensitive to external stimulation (e.g. sound, sight or smell) in general.
66% - Observant individuals are highly practical, pragmatic and down-to-earth. They tend to have strong habits and focus on what is happening or has already happened.
71% - Thinking individuals focus on objectivity and rationality, prioritizing logic over emotions. They tend to hide their feelings and see efficiency as more important than cooperation.
53% - Judging individuals are decisive, thorough and highly organized. They value clarity, predictability and closure, preferring structure and planning to spontaneity. (I think I am very spontaneous rather than structured, but this one is only at 53% so it's not real strong for this trait).
90% - Assertive individuals are self-assured, even-tempered and resistant to stress. They refuse to worry too much and do not push themselves too hard when it comes to achieving goals.
More Detail:
Logistician Personality (ISTJ, -A/-T)
My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty... it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.The Logistician personality type is thought to be the most abundant, making up around 13% of the population. Their defining characteristics of integrity, practical logic and tireless dedication to duty make Logisticians a vital core to many families, as well as organizations that uphold traditions, rules and standards, such as law offices, regulatory bodies and military. People with the Logistician personality type enjoy taking responsibility for their actions, and take pride in the work they do – when working towards a goal, Logisticians hold back none of their time and energy completing each relevant task with accuracy and patience.
Associate With Those of Good Quality if You Esteem Your Reputation...
When Logisticians say they are going to get something done, they do it, meeting their obligations no matter the personal cost, and they are baffled by people who don’t hold their own word in the same respect. Combining laziness and dishonesty is the quickest way to get on Logisticians’ bad side. Consequently, people with the Logistician personality type often prefer to work alone, or at least have their authority clearly established by hierarchy, where they can set and achieve their goals without debate or worry over other’s reliability.Logisticians have sharp, fact-based minds, and prefer autonomy and self-sufficiency to reliance on someone or something. Dependency on others is often seen by Logisticians as a weakness, and their passion for duty, dependability and impeccable personal integrity forbid falling into such a trap.
This sense of personal integrity is core to Logisticians, and goes beyond their own minds – Logistician personalities adhere to established rules and guidelines regardless of cost, reporting their own mistakes and telling the truth even when the consequences for doing so could be disastrous. To Logisticians, honesty is far more important than emotional considerations, and their blunt approach leaves others with the false impression that Logisticians are cold, or even robotic. People with this type may struggle to express emotion or affection outwardly, but the suggestion that they don’t feel, or worse have no personality at all, is deeply hurtful.
...For It Is Better to Be Alone Than in Bad Company
Logisticians’ dedication is an excellent quality, allowing them to accomplish much, but it is also a core weakness that less scrupulous individuals take advantage of. Logisticians seek stability and security, considering it their duty to maintain a smooth operation, and they may find that their coworkers and significant others shift their responsibilities onto them, knowing that they will always take up the slack. Logisticians tend to keep their opinions to themselves and let the facts do the talking, but it can be a long time before observable evidence tells the whole story.Logisticians need to remember to take care of themselves – their stubborn dedication to stability and efficiency can compromise those goals in the long term as others lean ever-harder on them, creating an emotional strain that can go unexpressed for years, only finally coming out after it’s too late to fix. If they can find coworkers and spouses who genuinely appreciate and complement their qualities, who enjoy the brightness, clarity and dependability that they offer, Logisticians will find that their stabilizing role is a tremendously satisfying one, knowing that they are part of a system that works.
12/20/2018
Ta da! I finally have my new bathroom! It was mostly finished by Thanksgiving weekend so I hosted a couple of family dinners that weekend and a couple weeks later to show it off.
10/24/2018
Summer has finally gone and once again the cooler temperatures have brought out my interest in getting outside and getting some projects done. Most of the leaves have fallen from my trees so I used the lawn mower and took advantage of the beautiful weather today to do one last mowing and mulch the leaves. Last weekend I burned fallen limbs and debris. I'm slowly making progress to reclaim the area where the debris from a fallen building is. Each year I add another few feet to the mowing where I have cleared wood from the building and stones.
I am finally back down to three dogs. It took me forever to
sell the last two puppies from Lady’s April litter. Chewbacca was 5 months old
when I sold him, then last week at the age of 6 months Luke finally found a
forever home. I also sold Lady back in
June, but I kept one of her puppies and named her Minnie, so it will be fun to
find out what it’s like to actually own a Golden Doodle since I have never
owned one. She has inherited her mother’s
jumping abilities, so she can hop over the 5 ft fence of the kennel with no
problem, and she likes to harass the cat like Lady did, so those are two traits
I do not like. I will not have any more
puppies again until next Spring when I breed Perdy, and I might do another back
to back set of litters by breeding Minnie on her second heat. I had planned to breed Perdy this past
August, but she was still recovering from her accident and needs time to build
up strength in her leg before I breed her.
I had been saving money to replace
my furnace this season, and then I received a tip from someone on Facebook who
said that the company that told me the repairs on my furnace would be too
costly and it would be better to replace it was notorious for convincing people
they needed new furnaces when it wasn’t warranted. So last month I got a second opinion. The guy who came said that a key component
had been “violently” broken apart and pieces of it were all over up there. He replaced that part for $120 and now my
furnace works. Grrrrrr! Companies that try to rip people off make me
so angry. I went an entire winter without a furnace and with jacked up electric
bills from using space heaters. Needless to say, I know who I will and won’t be
using to replace my furnace in a couple more years.
Now that I can postpone my furnace
replacement another urgent project became a priority. My bathroom floor had started caving in
between the tub and toilet because a leak from the bathtub drain caused the
flooring under the tile to rot. The toilet would rock and it was tricky getting
into the bathtub, so I diverted the furnace money to a bathroom remodel. I submitted a claim to my homeowner’s
insurance to see if they would cover any of the floor damages and they kicked
in $1,500. Demolition started today, and
since it’s my only bathroom they said they would coordinate everyone’s
calendars to get it done as efficiently as possible. In addition to the floor, I’m replacing the vanity,
walls, and tub and will have a real shower with a marble surround. Here are some before and during photos. I can’t wait to show the after photos.
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| Between those floor joists is dirt. | That part of the house is literally just the floor joists and thickness of the floor away from dirt. |
8/4/2018
My cousin, Natasha, has been in town from Kuwait and we all got together one evening. Amber got some pictures of all the cousins who were there and their babies. It's just crazy that all of these kids now have kids. I also got to meet my newest great niece. Hayden and his fiance Lilli had a little girl on June 11th.
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| Grandma Hislop with Mia Rose Jackson |
5/28/2018
Dakota and Natasha were in town over Memorial Day and we all got together for lunch. I miss them like crazy.
I was looking out in my backyard and thought that maybe someone had lost a domestic bird, then I realized they were not domestic, but I had many colorful birds in the trees in my yard.
5/8/2018
I finally sold all of Perdy and Lady's first litters of puppies, and I used the money plus a few thousand more that I had saved, to finally put a new roof on the house. It was so satisfying to actually be able to pay cash for an $18,000 roof.
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| I also re-roofed the kennel building while I was at it. |
My next two projects are to replace my furnace that no longer works and to repair my bathroom floor and remodel the bathroom. Lady had another litter of six puppies in April that will go towards one of those projects.
10/30/17
I added another litter of puppies to the mix even though I still haven't sold all of the first litter. I am a glutton for punishment. Lady delivered a litter of 4 Golden Doodle puppies. They will be old enough for new homes on Christmas Eve, so I am hoping that Christmas will help them sell faster.
9/30/2017
So my puppies have been growing like weeds and were old enough to go to new homes as of last week, but I have not found a single buyer for them yet! I don't understand... so many of the breeders in my facebook groups have waiting lists and puppies reserved before they even deliver, and I have not had a single sell yet and I have been advertising since before Perdy even delivered. I have been gleaning advertising and marketing tips from the various dog and puppy groups I belong to, so I will keep trying to get the word out. I want them to go to good homes where they will have long happy lives and not end up at a shelter, so I will hold out and start training them before I will let them go to people who do not understand the full financial and emotional commitment I want the puppies to have.
I made a facebook ad to boost my page there, so hopefully that will reach some takers over the next couple of weeks.
9/23/2017
Ok, now to update 2017 and see if I can get caught up.
January 2017
I added yet another dog to my family! Lady is an AKC standard poodle. I am set to breed both golden retrievers and golden doodles now.
February 2017
We went to Boondocks for EmmaLee's birthday and had pizza. I also took some Valentine treats for Kasen and Naomi (sugar cookies with baggies of frosting so they could decorate their own cookie). My original plan was to go bowling, but sometimes when you have toddlers in the family plans change and we played in the games area instead. Some nice boys at the claw machine gave Kasen a big colored ball and he loved it!
March 2017
Tai's Blessing - March 5th
I made her blessing dress out of my wedding dress.
There was plenty of help in the kitchen making french toast for everyone. 
April 2017
In April we had a fun Easter activity decorating eggs and letting Kasen and Naomi hunt for eggs. The pictures are on the main tab.
May 2017
Welcome to the family Marc J. Forsyth! He was born on his daddy's birthday 5/5/17, and once again I did not have my phone handy when the call came in that he had been born. He was a couple weeks early and oh so tiny! I posted pictures on his tab.
For the potting party this year Amber and Kristi made me some planters with painted butterflies made from the babies' footprints. They are so cute!
June 2017
Summer means more yard work. I worked at getting fencing in to confine the dogs away from the front yard. I would like at least one nice yard where their toys are not all over and where Pongo cannot dig holes. EmmaLee's boyfriend, Mike, helped me on one day to get a roll of fencing that goes across the upper edge and down the side of the driveway, and then Jake helped me install a couple of wire panels on the north side. I use electronic collars on the dogs to keep them on the property, so I did not need to enclose the back, I just needed to cut off access to the front since their collars do not stop them from getting to the front and side yard.
We also celebrated Kasen's 2nd birthday in June. Amber planned a party with a basketball theme since he likes basketball so much, and they got him a little bigger child's basketball standard. I got him a "Cars" table and chair set. I went down the night before to help her get ready because she was also running in the Strawberry Days 5k that morning, and when she got home from the race poor little Tai was sick and running a fever so Amber took her to the doctor. The doctor could not find anything wrong with her, but she was miserable all day long and then the next day she was suddenly just fine. One of those random mysteries.
July 2017
We did another staycation this year over Pioneer Day weekend. The photos are on the main tab. A few days after the staycation Perdy delivered a litter of TEN puppies! They have been so fun and are now old enough to go to new homes.Sadly, when they were 3 weeks old Lady managed to get into the puppy room and killed one of them :( I was so upset.
Lady has not been a very good addition to our household. I do not want a puppy killer. She also killed two different sets of chickens I have been trying to raise, she chases the cat, and she is impossible to contain because she can jump over anything. As soon as she has weaned the puppies that she is due to have in November I am going to sell her back to the previous owners.
The revenues from these two litters of puppies are to pay for my roof that has been needing to be replaced since I bought my house. I will also use a little bit to pay for the installation of a wood burning stove. Perdy's next litter some time next year will pay for nicer fencing. Right now I just have wire fencing with t-posts.
August 2017 - I don't remember much from August other than it was dreadfully hot and I did not want to go outside.
September 2017
Cooler weather has finally arrived and that means I have been able to get out and do some yard work. In August I brought in several loads of topsoil for my north yard that Dakota unloaded for me, and my neighbor also brought in a few loads of manure. Then, over Labor Day weekend EmmaLee, Mike, and Dakota came to help me level my yard and get it ready to plant grass seed. The seed is now in and has already sprouted, so hopefully I will have a nice lawn on that side next spring.
quite horrendous when I bought the house in 2014.
EmmaLee even got a chance to drive the tractor.
On the 21st we got together to celebrate Amber's and Kyle's birthdays. We went to Javier's and they got free fried ice cream.
Now I am caught up on 2017! I am looking forward to the holidays!
9/22/2017
Ughhh! I am terrible at keeping up on blogging. I need to take all of my facebook interactions and emails and just stick them here to keep up to date. Part of the reason for creating this blog was because I thought it would be easier to make a printing of it every once in a while so that there would also be a hard-copy of things about my life that might be worthwhile for family history, but there won't be much to print if I don't actually take the time to record what is going on in my life.
Other than significant events like births and birthdays I hardly remember what happened over a year ago. I will try to update 2016 month by month if I can find any information to help me.
January 2016 - I don't remember anything in particular.
February 2016
EmmaLee turned 21 and we celebrated by taking a trip to Las Vegas to see Raskal Flatts in concert. We also went to the aquarium and we wanted to ride the New York, New York roller coaster but it was closed, so we went to Circus Circus instead.
March 2016
Mom's Birthday Party - March 12th
April 2016 - I don't remember anything in particular.
May 2016
Jake graduated with his Masters Degree.
I hosted a fun Mothers Day activity that I would like to have as an annual activity called a potting party. I provided potting soil and flowers and invited all the women in the family to come make a planter of flowers to decorate their patios.We also celebrated Aunt Michelle's birthday. Here is a picture of all of us with our flower pots!
Dakota and Natasha's baby, Evva, was born May 17th.
McKenna & Ryan's baby, Parker, was born on the 29th. He managed to make it just ahead of me leaving on my British Isles trip as I left the next morning.
June 2016 - I took my long-awaited trip to the British Isles! I loved seeing everything I got to see, but boy was it a long trip, and the tour company kept us hopping. Next time I do a big trip I will not tie myself to a tour 100% of the time. I got along fine with my roommate, but it was still uncomfortable living with a stranger and feeling obligated to kind of babysit her, so in the future I will just suck it up and pay the extra cost as a single traveler. I went to England, Ireland, Scotland, and we were supposed to hop down to Paris on our last day of the cruise but there was a fuelers strike so the captain took us to Zebrugge, Belgium instead. I am not sure if this blog has a limit on how much space I can use to store and post photos, so I will post the photos and narrative on a separate page in case I have to delete them at some point in the future. I have now started a family vacation savings account where I put funds for all of the family every quarter, so in 5-6 years when the babies are old enough we can use the funds to supplement a big family vacation somewhere like Disneyland or a Disney cruise.
Just after I got back home we celebrated Kasen's 1st birthday. I got him a little basketball/soccer toy and this past year he has become quite the basketball player! He also got a baby doll and a new shirt from Mom & Dad letting everyone know that he was going to be a big brother!! I had suspected at Evva's blessing that she may be pregnant. She had run a 5k race couple months prior and had been very lean, and now I could see just the slightest difference to make me suspect. We were all excited to hear the news.
July 2016
Over the 4th of July weekend we had a staycation. Since we have little babies in the family it wasn't as practical to plan a big vacation, so I just planned a weekend of activities where we could base out of my house. We went to Crystal Hot Springs and up to Mantua Reservoir and had a game night at the house.
August 2016
I got a new puppy! I had been postponing looking for a new dog until after my trip, so pretty much as soon as I got back the search was on. I got this little girl from a breeder in Herriman. She is a golden retriever (75% English Creme and 25% American Golden). She was born May 17th and EmmaLee and I picked her up on August 3rd. I pondered a while over what to name her as I wanted to have some kind of a theme among my dogs. I didn't settle on a name until after I got my other dog in September.
September 2016
I added another dog to my family. He is a 10-month old English Creme Golden Retriever with strong European bloodlines. One thing I learned about the English Creme Retrievers out of Europe is that they have a lower incidence of cancer. American Goldens average a 66% cancer rate, while European average a 40% cancer rate. Anyway, his registered name is Robinson's Max-A-Million, but since I have already had a Max, I gave him a new call name. I finalized my little girl's name at the same time and decided to call them Pongo and Perdita like the dogs in 101 Dalmations. Perdy is her nickname, or Perdy Girl as I like to call her.When she was still little he was so good with her and let her tackle him when they were playing. Amber came out and did a photo shoot for me in the spring and I got some nice photos of them together to put on my website. My kennel name is Golden Hills Grove. www.goldenhillsgrove.com.
October 2016
EmmaLee and I made another trip to Las Vegas in October to see an Irish band she really likes called Celtic Thunder. We also got to ride the New York New York roller coaster this time and we toured the old part of Vegas down on Fremont Street.
Happy Halloween! Kasen and Naomi had fun dressing up for Halloween and learning hwo to trick-or-treat. I believe it was around this time that Jake and Kristi announced that they were expecting again, so Naomi would be getting a new sibling too!
Sweet Aunt Shonna passed away on November 1st :( She had been on a watch earlier in the year because she'd had pneumonia, but then she suddenly got better. This time she did not bounce back though. Different family members took turns sitting with her to make sure she was not alone those last couple of days. Sandy and I had spent some time with her the evening before, and then my mom came to stay the night. The next morning, after Michelle and Gwen had arrived, she was being checked and the nurse had to help her sit up. Mom said she appeared to be gasping for breath and when she was laid back down she passed away. I was up the street at my office when my mom called to let me know, so I went down to the care center to be with my mom. We all met to discuss her final arrangements and it was decided that she would be cremated and her ashes would be buried with my mom when she passes. I planned a little memorial gathering for her at the United Way building and once again Gene and Lynnette made it to town. Three times in one year, after not having them visit since Grandma Henderson's death in 2002. Larry's kids, Craig, Jeff, and Pam, also made it to the gathering.
Elections were held on November 8th and I was anxious all through the months leading up to the big day. I stayed up all night on pins and needles because I was so afraid of being disappointed again, but so cheering for and hoping that America would make the right choice this time. The media and pundits all were so critical of my preferred candidate and I just hated the favorite so bad, but boy did America show them who was boss. President Trump started knocking out states by around 9-10 pm, but several were too close to call for several hours, so it was well after 2 am before the election was called in favor of Trump. He took several states that have been Democrat for years and it was so sweet. I was so excited. I still go back and view all the view montages and news footage showing the reactions of the haters all across the media and it makes me so happy all over again. In spite of a lot of bullying and even back stabbing within his own party, President Trump has been doing an awesome job and is trying his hardest to put America and American citizens first. Every leader should have the best interests of his own citizens first in his heart, and Trump has certainly demonstrated that. Stock markets have been up ever since he took office and his supporters have stuck by him in spite of every effort by the Democrats to cause problems. There is still chaos across the country because left-wing nuts can't handle that they lost. December 2016
Tai Lynn was born 8 days early on December 10th. I had not even checked my phone or heard any messages come in, so I was on facebook that morning messaging Amber to see if she wanted the piano. She messaged back, "MOM! Check your phone!". I looked at my phone and there was a message around 4 am, "Baby time! Water broke and we are on our way to the hospital". Then another message around 10 am, "Tai Lynn was born at 10 am and we will let you all know when visitors can come". Oops. Even with the late notice and living the farthest away I still managed to get down to Utah County and was the first visitor at the hospital. Amber had quite the tale to tell about her delivery. She had wanted to try and go natural, but she was not dilating very fast, so she finally decided around 9 am to get an epidural. By the time the anesthesiologist arrived and administered the epidural though she suddenly finished dilating and ended up delivering before the epidural could even take effect, so that counts as delivering naturally :) In spite of being early, Tai Lynn was still over 9 lbs, so kudos to Amber! I was eager to see Kasen's reaction to his new sister and it has been so fun to see their relationship grow these past months as she has gotten more mobile and interactive. She is such a happy baby.
On New Years Eve we had our family Christmas party. I had postponed it until then so that Amber could have some recovery time after having Tai. It worked out well. I got Naomi a talking Elmo, and Kasen a battery operated 4-wheeler. It was hilarious watching him learn how to drive it back and forth though my dining and living room.
For my Christmas present I got a new car. It's a 2015 Dodge Journey. I had planned to wait a bit longer, but a problem with my headlights in my truck forced me to make the decision sooner. My truck would not pass safety inspection without the headlights working properly, and the part I needed is no longer available.
1/1/2016
Happy New Year!
In reflecting over this past year I am pleased with the progress I have made in many of my goals. Most of my goals had to do with my house. The water main was replaced last January, then the septic line a couple months later. I got several trees cut down this fall, including the two huge ones that were interfering with the house and the brick shed. I have already scheduled a company to come install some insulation and have ordered some new windows to be installed throughout 2016 and 2017. The next big task will be to get the roof done. I also really want to get a fireplace installed.
I keep running into unexpected expenses that slow me down, but I should still be able to do the roof. Most recently I discovered that 2 of my new tires were wearing at the outer edges to the point that they will need to be replaced a lot earlier than they should be. The cause of the problem was bad lower ball joints, so by the time I got those repaired, and an alignment, and my oil changed I was $750, and I still need to buy new tires within the next few months.
My big goal this year will be to take a 3-week trip to go tour the British Isles. I have made two payments, and I need to make two more, then I just need to get myself ready to go touring. I suppose I better practice walking up my property line a couple times a day to get prepared for walking up to all the castles I want to visit! This will be my one big lifetime trip, and then I will just settle into taking care of my property and being a grandma when I get back home.
8/31/2015
I received word last night that the tenants in my Brigham City house are going to be moving out by the end of September. This is a lot sooner than I had expected, but I am still pleased as it means that I will have a house to live in for the winter instead of my RV. I resurrected all my house plans so that I can line up the work I want to do on the property this fall. I have not been up there at all this summer as I did not want to be on top of my tenants trying to get stuff done. I was rather disappointed in how he talked of wanting to help with getting the property in shape, but every time I went up there it looked like they were just letting it go to weeds again and a lot of the grass I had growing so well last year was just dead. I am excited to be able to work on it again, and now I get to live there full time. I couldn't live there while I was working in Salt Lake because it was just too far away to commute, so the timing with getting out of the YMCA is excellent. I have started making calls to get the roof done, and I put in a call to an electrician to get a hookup for my RV because I want to move up there next week so that I can be on the property while they are moving. The tenants are actually getting divorced and she is moving to St. George, so I am curious about what they are planning to do with their goats. I wouldn't mind keeping a couple as they are great weed eaters.
Other events this month included a day of seeing Antelope Island with Jacob and EmmaLee (I hadn't been there since a trip with Jeff the first year we were married), a couple of days helping EmmaLee to look at cars and buy one (she is so excited!), and a trip to the doctor with Jacob and Kristi to see their ultrasound. All of the parents were invited and we got to see little Naomi get all her body parts measured and checked. Kristi is over half way now and it won't be long until we are planning another baby shower.
At the end of this week the kids and I will be going to St. George for a Labor Day weekend vacation. I was hoping to go find some waterfalls, but it sounds like they are all too far off the road to be taking a new born baby. We'll see what we can, and maybe even drive down to the Grand Canyon. There is miniature golf and a swimming pool at the KOA, plus a couple of reservoirs nearby for fishing.
I have been starting to look at dogs again and thinking about getting one, but I want to try and hold off until after I take my vacation next summer. I was always stressing and worrying about Max being taken care of whenever I went places so I want to make sure I have a fenced yard and I am in a position to not have to find someone to care for my animals all the time. After my Europe vacation I will plan to just stay home more and create a better home for a pet than what Max had. I want to get a female golden retriever, and a male standard poodle and breed Golden Doodles. They are all the rage these days. My boss at the State Fair had one and she was so sweet. I would like to try and find some adult dogs as I do not want to go through the puppy phase, but we'll see what comes along.
8/3/2015
I have finally made a total break from YMCA. The relief from that stress has already made a big difference in my life. I have been able to swim several mornings a week and I am able to have my personal time back and not feel like I have to be working 24/7. I am really liking the United Way and I definitely like the way the staff shows care and concern for each other. That has been made even more apparent the past several days while dealing with the death of one of our co-workers.
Thursday as we were sitting in the lunch room someone commented that Stephanie had not been heard from or seen at work yet, so people started trying to call her and checking to see if she had attended a morning meeting. When it was found that she did not attend the meeting a friend was sent to her home to check on her and it turned out to be a very bad. This dear sweet young lady had taken her own life. The past few days at work have been just dealing with the grief as most of the employees have had years of close interactions both in work and outside of work with her. A grief counselor was there today to help educate the staff about what to expect and how to cope. Even though I was not as close to her, I felt like the counseling and being able to openly grieve was beneficial.
I was not able to attend her memorial because they had it so rapidly and I was already committed to going to Cedar City for Kasen's blessing. Stephanie was from Peru, and I guess in their culture they try to have the services or burial within 24 hours. Her death was discovered Thursday around noon, and her memorial was held on Saturday. Her family will hold another memorial in Peru on Wednesday evening for those family and friends who are there, so her family was at work today asking co-workers to share thoughts about the impact that Stephanie had and the great things she did here. It is a very great loss and so sad to wonder why she did not see the great future that others saw for her. So many young people do not realize that just because one small part of their life does not feel right does not mean that they will feel that way the rest of their life. Just give it a chance and talk to someone.
Kasen's blessing was nice. All of the family got together at a local park the night before and had a picnic, then a bunch of us went to a movie. The next morning we went to Amber & Kyle's ward for Kasen's blessing and then got together at a local hotel conference room to make a breakfast of french toast. Kasen looked so cute in the blessing outfit that I made him!
6/22/2015
The past several days have been such a whirlwind of activity. I stayed in Cedar City from Tuesday night until Thursday evening, and saw Amber home from the hospital. She had invited me to lunch on Saturday a while back (for my birthday), expecting that Kasen would be born sooner than he was. I told her it might be better to reschedule so she could have some recovery time, but she was already coming north for Josh's homecoming so she still wanted to celebrate my birthday. And celebrate we did. Jacob and Kristi came to pick me up, and I was still assuming we were all just going to lunch, but it turned out that the kids had planned a surprise birthday party for me at a park in Ogden. Most of my family was there, plus they also found Melinda, Jay Jay, and Jeff Allred (friends from my youth). Melinda's mom came as well, so she had fun catching up with the family also. We had ice cream cake and visited with everyone for a while. Of course Kasen was who everyone really wanted to see :) They had taken him in for a check up that morning just before leaving Cedar City and the dr. warned them not to let him get passed around, so they tried very hard to limit any holding. Jacob and Kristi did get to hold him, so they are even more excited about their baby. After the party in the park I went to dinner with the kids and Dakota and Natasha. I love getting all of us together. 
Melinda and I grew up kitty-corner from each other on Valhalla Drive in Clearfield. I and my siblings had a hard time initially fitting in when we first moved to Clearfield after my dad died; I even got in to a couple of scraps with Melinda. However, by around 5th-6th grade we had become good friends, and through junior high we were inseparable. I remember one boy we went to school with said he knew we were Melinda and Tammy, but he never knew who was who. One summer we spent every night together for at least 6 weeks... another summer I got to fly to Oregon with her to stay with her sister for a month. In retrospect I kind of feel bad for taking that trip because my mom had volunteered to help with girls camp that year and I ended up missing it because I wanted to go to Oregon. I think the girls camp would have probably been a more significant bonding experience for me and my mom, but it was the only year she went and I never had another chance.
Josh's homecoming was on Sunday, so I rode with Jacob and Kristi to Pleasant Grove and spent the day down there. Again, Kyle and Amber kept a low profile so the baby would not be exposed to all the people. They stayed down in the bedroom with the door locked most of the day, but a few people made their way down to see Kasen. I had a chance to visit with Arex (Josh and Ben's step-mother). She is really nice... she immigrated from Armenia back in 1979 and was able to take political asylum in the U.S. because of the wars in their homeland. She had a brother already here, and it sounds like all of her family was able to immigrate. I have to say that of all the blended families I have been around, I think we have done the best job of building a strong family in spite of being blended. We have had more than a few difficult moments, but even traditional families go through problems. I am thankful that we did not let personal differences interfere with giving our children solid family values. That is definitely evident in Amber... stubborn cuss wouldn't even stay home to recuperate because it was more important to make it to my birthday party and Josh's homecoming. They also stayed one more night at Jeff's so that they could attend a BBQ with Kyle's family Monday and let all of them meet Kasen. I love my family.
6/7/2015
I decided to add a separate page for me to record happenings and thoughts about myself.
My trek into RV living has had some interesting learning experiences. For the first two months I was parked in my aunt's driveway. Since I did not have any sewer hookups that meant I would have to drive the RV to a dump station any time I wanted to empty my holding tanks. I did have power, but it was only 110, which is not sufficient to run the on-board air conditioners. I bought a smaller AC unit, but even that would cause the breaker to trip. I also had access to water using her garden hose.
When my aunt moved, I was faced with looking for a new place to park my motorhome. There are a couple of RV parks in the Ogden area, but both of them were full. I stayed at the property where Susan moved from for a few more days, then I stayed in the United Way parking lot for a couple days, then I stayed in the YMCA parking lot for a night, then back to United Way. I was having to run my generator constantly though because I do not have a way to connect to electricity when I am staying in parking lots. The lp gas function on my refrigerator does not appear to be working, so that meant that every time I turned off the generator my fridge would stop working. I have lost a lot of food the past couple of months including a package of salmon and a package of pork , but I didn't want to spend any more on buying a newer RV, so I will have to deal with a few repairs I guess. I need to get the lp line for the fridge working by the time we take our family vacation to Southern Utah though.
I have discovered that you really have to differentiate whether you are going to use your RV for travel, or for living in, because when you live in it you set it up to be your home. When you travel, however, you set it up to travel well. You can't have anything out that will come crashing down when you hit a bump or turn a corner. So, with all my driving back and forth I had to move everything to travel safely and it looked a mess. One of the RV places finally had a spot open up, so as of yesterday I have a better set up to stay long-term. It's in North Ogden, so my Brigham property is only about 30-45 min away and United way, where I work, is only about 20 min away. The only kink is that I still have to go into Salt Lake a couple days a week and that is an hour drive each way. I keep a duffle bag with an air mattress in my truck so that I can stay over night at the YMCA office and avoid an extra drive, but when I do that it means I either need to take Max with me or have someone checking in on him and Missy Kitty.
It's nice being in a full-hookup place even though it means forking out money on rent. (Still a lot cheaper that renting a home or apartment though). I have the correct amp plug-in so that I can run my air conditioners, I have a sewer connection so that I don't have to go empty my holding tanks, and I have a fresh water connection so that I don't have to go fill my water tank. I may still have to travel to get propane, but I believe there are propane delivery services that may alleviate that task. I still have to have propane for the water heater and the stove/oven, but I did buy an electric portable cooktop for either saving on propane use, or for use when the propane runs out. And I have a swimming pool! That will be nice through the summer to go cool off.
Making the job change and downsizing my life has already paid off big time. Since January I have paid $5,600 for repairs on my Brigham property, I have paid down my credit card balance by $5,000, I was able to give out $2,000 in graduation and baby gifts, and I currently have $10,000 in the bank. I think I will be able to get both of my credit cards paid off in one year rather than two. I also still need to put a new roof on the Brigham house, get all new windows, insulation, and a new floor in the kitchen. If I stay in the RV 1 year, I will be out of debt, and if I stay two years I will be out of debt and have all the upgrades done so I can move in to my Brigham City house. I would also like to get some nice sod laid, a sprinkler system, and fencing, but those are tasks that can wait until I actually move in. When I look at my bank balance I keep dreaming of other things to do with it like taking my Europe trip or buying a new vehicle, but I have to keep reminding myself of my bigger goals that need to be taken care of right now.
I like reading about your personality! Do you feel like all of it on the site was correct about you or are there things you disagree with?
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of it, although it makes me sound more motivated than I think I am. I have plenty of laziness in me... lol The idea of more efficiency with one person doing a task rather than multiple definitely applies to me. My approach to completing a large project is divide and conquer, with each person taking a piece to be responsible for rather than everyone trying to muddle through every part together. It drives me nuts having bosses who want to micro-manage and work beside me through each step of a task instead of just letting me work by myself to deliver a finished product.
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