BIG Day

Okay, not for me, personally, but 2 of my sista-friends have had GREAT things happen to them today!

Michelle has been authoring, illustrating, editing and re-editing a FABULOUS book, that will be available in March. She is a great scrapbooker, and a great friend, and so I am giddy right along with her that this project is in the hands of the printer . . . at long last!! WOO HOO!!

Then, my biological sista-friend, Karalee, just sold her house (Yes, in this IMPOSSIBLE buyers' market!!) and found a house within the same ward boundaries for her and her kiddoes to relocate to. What a blessing . . . and we'll need fewer hours for the moving process!
TODAY they signed the papers -- she is officially sold out of a house! Another big WOO HOO!!

Congratulations, ladies! I knew that this day would come -- but who knew you would BOTH be sell-abrating on the same day?? ;)

Sweet Sorrow

President Hinckley passed over to the other side of the veil last night. He was 97 - I guess that he has earned a little rest! Plus, while he was our prophet dear, he kicked some serious butt, with all the temples that were built and all the travelling he did. I will miss his humor and frankness, and overall love of people!

I heard him speak, in person, in March of 2002, and THEN he was making comments about his age and how much longer he may or may not be here . . . I guess that just proves that NONE of us really know when our time to go is.

On that same subject, a guy in my parents' ward died on Friday -- they still don't know why! He went to the ER, because he had been sick with a fever and extreme stomach pain, since Thursday. While they were prepping him for emergency surgery, his heart stopped and they couldn't revive him. I feel so badly for his wife and kids; that has to be such a shock!

With all that is happening in the world today, political unrest, faltering economy, etc. it makes me want to focus on what really matters - family, spiritual well being and love of my fellow men (and women, obviously!). I have to keep reminding myself to "live like you were dyin'".

Another quote that I have found about life, really makes me smile - "Life may not be the party that we hoped for, but while we are here, we might as well dance." - Anonymous

I'm workin' for that attitude! :)

Kickin' it with one of my goals for 2008!

Okay, I have to admit that, for right now, at least, this goal is "do-able" because Jorge is out of town, but I am pleased with myself, none the less!

One of my goals, for the new year, is to do 3 page layouts or cards or scrappy somethings per week! After spending 5 + hours going through photos for a Christmas project, I realized that I MUST DO SOMETHING WITH ALL THESE PHOTOS!!!!!

So, I started last Friday night with a few projects, which, ironically, 2 of the 3 projects involve NEW photos! (I can't pass up a photo op -- and I won't apologize for it!!)

Anyway, the layout with the four sweet faced girls is just a candid "we want to be in a pic together" shot from Thanksgiving, 2006. Therefore, I haven't added any profound journaling yet! (But, Hey! It gave me a chance to use one of my favorite words . . . "chum" tee hee!!)

The other one . . . the "wild girls" layout -- the journaling says that the girls didn't have anything to do on Saturday, 12/29/07, so they made "faux hawks" in their hair, and went to the mall to show off! Ah, the teen years!

I really love the therapy that is scrapbooking, and the family loves to see the pages that I come up with to showcase some VERY cute kids! (Oh, and teenagers!!)

LOVE this movie!!

27 Dresses -- A definite chick flick, this movie was fabulous! My mom, three nieces and I went to check this out on Saturday.
It wasn't necessarily thought provoking or soul-search inspiring, like the last movie that I talked about, but it was entertaining and romantical, just like escaping reality at the movies should be!
The most hilarious part was the wearing of each of the 27 dresses, and the break away shot to the actual wedding where it was worn. ROTFLMAO!
That was the reward, before hand, for a hard working weekend! My sister is moving, and we had to pack and clean and organize all weekend . . . so we had fun FIRST, and then worked our tails off! A nice change!
And, after seeing this movie, I definitely want to learn the lyrics to Elton John's song "Benny and the Jets"! If you see it, you'll understand why! :)

Another Family Tradition Ends!

. . . and not by any choice of ours! Our family favorite, Matta's, on Main St in Mesa, is closing it's doors forever! SAD!!

This has been our immediate and extended family gathering place for as long as I can remember! After baptisms, temple visits, family meetings, or just because for YEARS! Thanks to Matta's I know what a chile relleno is . . . and like them VERY much! Oh, and their hot sauce -- when I lived in Utah, I CRAVED it! Every time somebody from Arizona came to Utah, I made them bring me at least one bottle! (My dad was so kind to bring me 4 bottles one time -- oh, yeah!!)

Anyway, it made me a little melancholy this afternoon, when I read about the restaurant closing! I have so many memories from there!

- Mariachi singers serenading us at our table

- My nephew, Wyatt, yelling "OOOWWWWW!" the first time he ever tasted the hot sauce!(We had to laugh at him, because he insisted on trying it!)

- Me blowing milk bubbles out my nose, and spitting it too!

- Strawberry Crush soda from a bottle, oh, and Sasparilla, too!

- Many, many, many bowls of chips

- Post girls' camp lunch with all the cabin moms

- Lunch with the ladies

- To go orders when I worked at Kinko's

Wow, lots of memories! And I don't think that I have many photos from that mecca of memories. I remember it being a special place, for birthdays, for Mother's Day . . . or just for fun!

There is one waitress there that has been there since my MOM graduated from high school -- that's a LOOOOOOOONG time, y'all! (Love ya, Mom!)

I guess after 55 years of working so hard to make a great place, they deserve to retire, but we will miss that part of our family! Thanks, Matta family, for all of the memories!

Can I Help?

I know me, the parts of me that drive me crazy, and the parts of me that I can't really help or seem to get rid of! LOL :)
I am a blue personality (See http://www.thecolorcode.com/) and an integral part of being a blue, for me, is the need to be needed. I just like to help people . . . family, friends, complete strangers . . . I just like to help!
People, even family members, sometimes question my motivation for being so helpful, but I can honestly say, I just like to help!
Here's an example: Today, at work, the Accounting manager told us that his assistant is leaving the company. So, since I am the Human Resources Administrator, I decided to ask her about it. Turns out, she had let him know, IN CONFIDENCE, that she was leaving, just to be considerate to him, and give him a bit of a heads up! She wasn't very happy that he told ALL of the managers about her plans!
I asked her if there were anything that she needed from me, and if she had anything that she had anything to discuss with me. She said, "No, it is just time to move on . . . I can't take it anymore!" Okay, what do I say to that??
Then, a half an hour later, she came back to my office with this question, "Well, since the news is out . . . do you know of anyone that is hiring??"
I, in my need to be helpful, the HR Administrator for the company that she is leaving, responded with, "Yes, I know that there are lots of jobs out there!" Then we proceeded to talk about the pros and cons of temporary agencies, and what they do or do not have to offer. (She doesn't want to work through an agency, because she doesn't want them to ". . . make money off of me!")
A little while later, I called her at her desk, to give her a few more pros about temp agencies. She said, "Thanks! I didn't think about it that way!"
There you go, me being helpful! Let's just hope that my boss doesn't have a problem with my helpfulness . . . I need to be needed, but I DON'T need to be needing another job! LOL

The Bucket List

So, the premise of the movie, "The Bucket List" is this: 2 men, both cancer victims, make a list of things they want to do . . . before they kick the bucket!

The theme is rather reminiscent of the lyrics to a song that Tim McGraw sings, "Live like you were dyin'", but actually shows (however fictionally!) these 2 men doing just that!

(I need to say, before I go any further, that I am NOT a Jack Nicholson fan . . . he is too crass, crude and crotchety for me!! Usually!! But, this part was perfect for him, because he could be himself . . . or at least my perceived version of himself!)

I got free movie passes from a friend at work, and my mom and I arrived at the theater an hour and 45 minutes before the movie started, to ensure a seat. (That wasn't the fun part!!) But, by the time the movie was over, I felt that it was well worth the time spent!

I have my dreams, of course, of someday things and probably not in a million years things, but this story inspired me to really think about things that are important to me, to accomplish before I move on from this "frail existence".

Before I let you in on my "Bucket List", I want to say, about the movie soundtrack -- lots of great oldies! Including "In the Jungle", that both actors are singing, while driving on safari in Africa. LOVE that song! And, John Mayer wrote a song called "SAY", which he sings during the closing credits. It's a pretty simple song, but with a strong message. My favorite line is this:

"Better to say too much than to never say what you need to say . . . " Ah, wisdom put to music - my favorite kind!

Anyway, I got to pondering my "Bucket List" a bit, and came up with a few things. I don't think that this is in any way a complete list, but for right now, I can focus on these few things and move on from there. Here goes:

- Have a child (experience childbirth, etc.)

- Learn to play the piano well

- Write my life's story (whether it will be worth reading or not is beside the point!)

- Make a difference in my family

- Publish a children's story

- Say "I love you" with my actions, every day

As I said, these are just a few things, but I love how the release of this movie corresponds with the new year -- I don't have to make resolutions! I can make a Bucket List!

Happy New Year 2008!!

Well, I have to say that I am not starting out my new year as well as I would like . . . I woke up New Year's Day with mucho chest congestion and coughing! Not my idea of a good time!!
But, I don't believe in signs, so I will NOT take this as an omen for the year to come!!

Anyway . . . Jorge and I went to Utah for Christmas. My first Christmas EVER in Utah, even though I lived there for 4 years. (I always went home, to Arizona, for Christmas!) Thanks to whomever arranged for the "white" for our Christmas -- It was beautiful!! The thing about Utah snow is that it is really too dry to play in, as far as making snowballs and a snowman . . . not to mention the fact that Jorge refused to play in it! He doesn't like snow!!
It was great to see some family and friends! To those of you that I didn't get to see -- I still love ya! It's hard to cram 4 years worth of friends and past life into a 5 day trip!
And, can I just say -- I LOVE FLYING TO UTAH!! No, we didn't fly . . . but the 14.5 hours (thanks to bad traffic and snowy weather) in the car made for a really rough day of arrival. I spent 4 hours in bed, along with a healthy (????) dose of extra strength acetominephen to get rid of the back pain.
It was neat to spend Christmas with the Greene clan and see some of their family traditions. Jorge and I are combining two cultures, so we have yet to come up with our own traditions -- this was, after all, our first Christmas together.
I don't have any photos right now -- they are in my camera just waiting to come out! I'll upload later!
New Year's Eve -- I got a little taste of Colombia there! Jorge and I have met some other people from Colombia, and they invited us to spend New Year's with them. Well, I didn't know, before that night, that in Colombia, the party STARTS at midnight!!!! So, "Feliz Anyo" (spelled phonetically, since I don't know how to do the symbol, in this blogger format!!) was exchanged by all, and THEN the partying started! Lots of Latin music, dancing, food, talking, and more music, dancing, food . . . and then, about 2:30 am, Kaelene did NOT have the energy to party anymore! I started falling asleep right in the chair that I was sitting in! EMBARASSING!! But, our hostess didn't even blink when Jorge told her that I needed to rest. So, she showed me to a bedroom, with a comfy bed, and I did my best to relax for the next hour.
Jorge is a great dancer, AND had had himself a nap earlier in the day, so he was all about keeping the party alive . . . next year I'll do better, honey! We called it a "night" about 6 am -- ya, I couldn't stay awake for the drive home! New Year's Day was just one big relax-fest . . . Thankfully!!
Anyway, I hope that the year is starting out well for all! I'm excited to see what changes this year can bring! Heaven knows that 2007 brought its share of challenges, but we are better people for it!
My main goal for 2008 -- Be happy EVERY DAY! I think I can find a thing or two to smile about, every day! What about you?