Tulips by the Thousands

Tulips are a sure sign that spring is here :) Here in Utah they seem to bloom everywhere! I love it ~ After the long winter it's a cheery way to move into a more colorful time of year.

This past week Laura, Erin and I went south a little ways to the Tulip Festival At Thanksgiving Point. There are 55 acres of gardens in all different themes. Secret Garden, Italian Garden, Butterfly Garden, Rose Garden, etc. There are 250,000 tulips of 70 varieties planted throughout the gardens! They were beautiful! 

We rented a golf cart to drive around in but there were so many people it would have been easier to just walk!

 We enjoyed a great lunch at the Trellis Cafe. We were so hungry we forgot to take pictures of the food :)

"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

~Psalm 8:1

~JanMarie

Renew

We are having a beautiful spring! The tulips and daffodils are blooming right now, the grass is vibrant green and the trees are glowing with the newness of their leaves :)


My trainer was out of town last week and today I cancelled my training session. Next week I will get back on track with that.
I am almost down 8 lbs. I want to get to 200 lbs. by the middle of May and Dani's graduation. That would a total of 20 lbs. lost. 
So.....I need to be diligent about my water intake, really limit my coffee and watch what I eat, increase the number of days that I do my 4 mile walk each week and get to the gym. 

"But those who hope in the Lord 

Will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

They will run and not grow weary,

They will walk and not faint."

~Isaiah 40:31

~JanMarie

Easter and Everyday Life

A bit of Easter decorating~

Where to start.......I haven't blogged for way to long.
I started a new job almost a month ago and it's been an adjustment.   I like my job at the frame and gift shop. I work 3 days a week, 8 hours a day. Some days are more mentally tiring then other days. Who knew there were so many things to learn about framing and matting!
Dani is so sweet to cook dinner on Tuesday nights and DJ does the cooking on Friday and Saturday nights. I'm blessed that they are so willing to help out :)
The rest of the week I'm fitting in volunteering at CCS (our local food bank), coordinating hiking with my group of ladies, coordinating the clean teams at church & keeping the janitor closet stocked and clean, working out with my trainer once a week,  having coffee with my friend LaDawn (we've been doing that for almost 10 years) then of course the usual cleaning and laundry around here.

Ben is practicing for track/field. He's doing the high jump, softball throw and shot put this year.
He also has practice every night now over at the playhouse as their musical starts in less than 2 weeks! It starts April 20th and will run until June 2nd with performances 3 nights a week.

Heather started massage therapy school a couple of weeks ago. It will take her about a year. She's excited to be working towards a new direction :)

And then there's my Loo (Dani) ~ Are we really here already? Where did the last 18 years go? She graduates May 23rd, turns 18 on the 28th and moves in with Heather June 1st. One of Heathers roommates is getting married this week which opened up a bedroom.

I do have great plans for the upstairs loft bedroom after Dani moves out :) The carpet is getting ripped out and the walls will be painted a neutral color.
Then........I'm moving all my crafts/scrapbook materials up there along with my easel so I can start oil painting (I haven't done that since high school). I'm excited to create a cozy place to be inspired in!
DJ has been going to his friend Doug's house on Monday nights. They are rebuilding old motorcycles together.
I've lost a couple more pounds. I've quit keeping creamer at the house. I have coffee 2-3 cups of coffee a week when I'm out and about and I think that has really helped.

Well, that's just a bit of an update on what's going on around here.

I hope you had a blessed Easter weekend celebrating the greatest gift God has ever given ~ the gift of His only Son Jesus who died for our sins and rose again so we can have the hope of eternal life with Him if we put our faith in Him alone.

JanMarie

 

This Week.......

I love sunny days and most of the week was in the 60's ~ Beautiful!
The last couple of days have been cooler and a bit more dreary. Typical March :)


My mums are all green and growing, trees have buds and tulips are creeping up.


Trained with Ryan on Monday, walked 4 miles on Wednesday, walked a mile or so on Friday and worked out at home one day.


I got a job this week also. I filled out an application a couple of months ago at a local frame shop and never heard back from them. They called this week and asked if I was interested in working there still. I started Friday.
It's a small family owned business that's been there for at least 30 years.
I will be doing odd jobs around the shop until I learn how to measure and take peoples orders when they want something framed. 
I think I will enjoy working there as the people are really friendly and it's a laid back atmosphere.


Friday DJ and I went to "Moore's Family Restaurant" in Ogden. It was good but not exceptional. We are thinking about becoming regulars at "No Frills Diner". We tried it a couple of weeks ago and it's our favorite so far. Food was great! 


Counting my blessings today as I realize how much I have to be grateful for :)


                                                                                       ~JanMarie

A Weeks Recap

Here's a recap on our week:


-Ben is practising for another musical, "Thoroughly Modern Millie", at our local community playhouse. They will perform April - June. He's part of the chorus and so excited to step into another musical so soon :)
They practise 3-4 times a week.


-The youth girls started their Bible study this week (the book of James) that they are doing before their missions trip to the Phillipines in June. Dani is so excited about this whole trip and studying James. She's looking forward to visiting the girls school over there and the orphanage.


-In February DJ's workplace announced they had to cut 2 people. We are SO grateful he wasn't one of them!

Friday morning DJ and I went out for our weekly breakfast date. We went to "SILLS" in Layton.  338 Gentile is the address. It's a diner that's been around since the 1950's and run by the Sills family. It's a very popular place with a lot of morning regulars.

We both got Dale's Plate ~ consisting of 1 egg, really good bacon and SOS on hashbrowns. SOS is a standard breakfast gravy that's been served in military chow halls for a very long time.

It also came with a scone & honey butter. This isn't what I think of when I hear the word scones BUT it was SO yummy! Fried bread dough :)

**********

Yesterday we decided it was time to hit the road ~ with the ATV's. It was sunny and 53*. Our friends, the Bailey's, came along. The girls had to work so we took Ben.
We normally head for the mountains but yesterday we headed west of the freeway towards the desert. We ended up parking between Corrine and Kelton ~ just past Promontory. It was a good day to be out in the open as it was sunny but not overly warm. The direct sunlight was helpful :) 

We parked above the rocks and walked down to the sand..........

Doug & Brenda

Doug w/ Ben & Jordan in the background - The boys had a lot of fun running around and throwing rocks.

It was a great day of riding with only one mishap. At one point Ben turned into Jordan. Somehow Ben's ATV flipped and he landed in the middle of the gravel road. Bruised and a little cut up but nothing bad. Jordan used quick thinking and was able to steer away as Ben turned into him. The boys were ahead of us and as we came upon them Ben was sitting in the road with the ATV off to the side. 
It was a lesson in paying attention to what you are doing! We are just thankful no one was seriously hurt.


I did workout with Ryan this week and went snowshoeing on Wednesday with Erin. I take that back. We didn't snowshoe. We just hiked with our snow trekkers on. The snow is disappearing to fast! I'm doing pretty good drinking enough water. 
I'm hoping March is a month where I see progress!

"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.

 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."

~Psalm 62:1 & 2 (NIV)

~JanMarie

Fiddler On The Roof

March.Is.Here :)
Somehow saying March just makes me feel warmer instead of saying February. In reality we live in Utah and March is definitely NOT springtime! Last night we got some fresh powder soooooo......it should be good snowshoeing :)


We had a wonderful visit with DJ's mom, Vivian. We went to Ben's musical, "Fiddler on the Roof", all 3 nights and it was awesome! The kids did an amazing job and we are SO proud of Ben :)

Ben ~ bookseller, Avram,  in "Fiddler on the Roof"...........Great job Ben!

Heather, Me, Dani being "choked" by Ben (sibling love you know!), DJ & Vivian

Glenn, Vivian, Laura, Ben, Me & Erin ~ we are blessed to have such supportive people in our lives!

Heather, Me, Dani, Ben, DJ & Vivian

************
Tuesday and Wednesday Vivian volunteered at the local food bank with me. She sorted diapers (Heather helped her Tuesday) and I worked at the computers like I usually do signing clients in for food distribution. I love volunteering there and actually helped yesterday and today also as they got a new computer system and so this week was a bit crazy!

DJ and I went out for our weekly Friday morning date  today. Every Friday morning we try a different  place for breakfast (it can't be a chain). We like to support mom and pop places. 
Today we went to "No Frills Diner"  on 12th St. in Ogden. It was very good. I had cinnamon raisin pancakes and bacon. DJ had some sort of "stack". Bottom layer to top it went like this ~ biscuits, hashbrowns, eggs, country fried steak and then it was all covered with country gravy! Wow! It looked good but I'm trying to make better choices :)

March is a new month and I'm excited to get back on track with going to the gym!

 Blessings,
JanMarie

Tidbits

March is just around the corner.......I'm ready! We haven't had the greatest winter where snow is concerned so I'm ready for flowers to start blooming :)


I'm getting back on track with drinking enough water each day. I skipped training yesterday because my back was out of wack. Tomorrow instead of snowshoeing we are going to try cross country skiing! That ought to be fun and a bit entertaining :)


Ben's musical, "Fiddler on the Roof", is this weekend. The kids have put so much time and effort into this ~ I look forward to seeing the end result!


This past Friday DJ and went to SLC for the RV Show. It's always so much fun to look and drool a bit. We've known for a long time that when we buy our trailer it will be a toy hauler. It's what makes sense for us with our ATV's.

***********

Ok, I didn't finish this post yesterday so I'll wrap it up. 

We didn't cross country ski today because the weather was rainy/snowy up over the mountain. 

So I spent a couple hours today with a close friend having coffee and sharing with each other life's joys and trials :) 

Ben and Dani are going on a 2 week mission trip this summer to the Philippines with our church youth group. They are both really excited to go ~ It's an incredible opportunity for them to experience another culture and see how God is working in that country.

Have an awesome week!

~JanMarie